An assessment of economic burden of Diabetic Macular Edema (DME) in Russian Federation was conducted on the example of four pilot regions including Samara Region, Republic of Bashkortostan, Chuvash Republic and Yaroslavl Region. The assessment involved a newly developed interactive pharmacoeconomic model that uses data from questionnaire surveys of leading DME experts residing in the regions. In the course of the study, direct and indirect costs associated with DME were calculated. The highest direct costs of DME treatment were seen in the Republic of Bashkortostan - 302 482 RUB/year per patient. Direct cost of treating a single DME patient in the Samara Region was 34 271 RUB/year, in the Yaroslavl Region - 32 308 RUB/year and in the Chuvash Republic - 12 243 RUB/year. Indirect costs per DME patient in the Samara Region amounted to 67 530 RUB/year, in the Yaroslavl Region - 75 177 RUB/year, in the Republic of Bashkortostan - 102 884 RUB/year and in the Chuvash Republic - 81 082 RUB/year. Total annual costs per DME patient in the Samara Region was 101 801 RUB/year, in the Yaroslavl Region - 107 485 RUB/year, in the Republic of Bashkortostan - 405 366 RUB/year and in the Chuvash Republic - 93 325 RUB/year.
Despite the vitrectomy performed for diabetic macular edema (DME), some patients still have symptoms of the disease due to overproduction of VEGF by the ischemic retina, which requires regular administration of an antiangiogenic drug. Studies of the pharmacokinetics of antiangiogenic drugs after vitrectomy in humans have not been carried out. Data from the DRCR.net (Post-Hawk Protocol I) study and real-life clinical practice studies show similar results for anti-VEGF DMO therapy in vitreous eyes and after vitrectomy (2, 7). Purpose. To assess the effectiveness of antiangiogenic therapy with aflibercept for DMO in avitreal eyes in real clinical practice. Methods. The initial and after vitrectomy best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central retinal thickness (CRT) were determined according to OCT data, then these parameters were monitored by 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after the start of antiangiogenic therapy with aflibercept. 14 patients (14 eyes) with persistent DME underwent vitrectomy with removal of the internal limiting membrane, in 5 of them the epiretinal fibrosis was removed and 3 of them with a traction retinal detachment that was also removed with air tamponade. Results. Aflibercept intravitreal injections were started with 5 loading doses by 1-11 months after vitrectomy. On average, after 12 months, patients received 7.2 injections, while there was no need for laser surgery of the macular zone. By the end of the study, the CRT decreased by 255 ±86 µm, the BCVA was 0.35 ± 0.2 in comparison with the initial 0.07±0.03 (on a decimal scale). Conclusions. The effectiveness of the anti-VEGF therapy with aflibercept for DME in avitreal eyes was confirmed by an increase in functional (BCVA) and normalization of morphological (CRT on OCT) parameters after the first injections during the period of loading doses. Previous vitrectomies in patients with DMO do not affect the long-term favorable clinical outcomes of anti-VEGF therapy with aflibercept. Key words: vitrectomy, diabetic macular edema, aflibercept, anti-VEGF, OCT, best corrected visual acuity, central retinal thickness.
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