Initiation and maintenance of a Treat-and-Extend regimen for ranibizumab therapy in wet age-related macular degeneration: recommendations from the UK Retinal Outcomes Group

Winfried Amoaku,1 Konstantinos Balaskas,2,3 Tomas Cudrnak,4 Louise Downey,5 Markus Groppe,6 Sajjad Mahmood,7 Hemal Mehta,8 Quresh Mohamed,9 Bushra Mushtaq,10 Philip Severn,11 Athanasios Vardarinos,12 Yit Yang,13 Saad Younis14 1Academic Ophthalmology, Division of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK; 2NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and University College of London Institute of Ophthalmology, London, UK; 3University of Manchester, Manchester, UK; 4Royal Eye Infirmary, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, Plymouth, UK; 5Hull and East Yorkshire Eye Hospital, Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, Hull, UK; 6Ophthalmology, Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, Aylesbury, UK; 7Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, UK; 8Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; 9Gloucestershire Eye Unit, Cheltenham General Hospital, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Gloucester, UK; 10Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre, Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, Birmingham, UK; 11South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Middlesbrough, UK; 12Eye Treatment Centre, West Suffolk Hospital, West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, Bury St Edmunds, UK; 13Wolverhampton Eye Infirmary, The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, Wolverhampton, UK; 14Ophthalmology, Western Eye Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK Abstract: The treatment of neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD) with ranibizumab is now very well established in terms of efficacy and safety. Recent clinical trials and real-world studies have demonstrated the advantages of a Treat-and-Extend (T&E) regimen, and many hospital departments are now in the process of adopting this new regimen in favor of the pro re nata regimen for initiating and continuing ranibizumab therapy for patients with wet AMD. The comprehensive spectrum of issues related to implementation of the regimen is covered qualitatively in ten didactic topics provided by a group of clinicians with direct experience of this regimen in their department. The topics include definition, new and previously treated eyes, management of high-frequency injections, maximum extensions, discontinuing T&E, bilateral cases, clerical, audit, and patient counseling. This article aims to provide a useful resource for the implementation of the T&E regimen. A quantitative summary of the visual outcomes in key publications is also provided in this article. This article should be a valuable resource for staff training. Keywords: ranibizumab, age-related macular degeneration, nAMD, Treat and Extend, anti-VEGF treatment