{
  "abstract": "Aims To compare 1-year and 2-year outcomes of eyes with persistent and non-persistent diabetic macular oedema (DME) treated with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitors.Methods This was a cohort study using the Fight Retinal Blindness! (FRB!) international outcomes registry. Participants had treatment-naïve eyes with centre-involving DME starting intravitreal VEGF inhibitor therapy from 2014 to 2023. Eyes were grouped as those with persistent DME and those with non-persistent DME. Main outcome measures were mean visual acuity (VA) change and central subfoveal thickness change after 1 and 2 years of treatment.Results This study included 877 eyes, of which 40% had persistent DME. The mean VA change in eyes with persistent DME was less than that in eyes with non-persistent DME at 1 (+3.6 vs. +6.5 letters; p<0.001) and 2 (+3.6 vs. +6.3 letters; p<0.001) years. The persistent group had a lower mean reduction in central subfield thickness at 1 (−74 vs −111 µm; p<0.001) and 2 (−90 vs −114 µm; p<0.001) years and received more mean injections at 1 (7.6 vs 6.5; p<0.001) and 2 (11.8 vs 9.5; p<0.001) years.Conclusion Eyes with persistent DME had significantly lower improvement in mean VA, lower reduction in CST and more injections 1 and 2 years after the initiation of VEGF inhibitor therapy. Eyes with persistent DME likely had a higher treatment burden because they had more aggressive disease that was more difficult to control. More effective agents would likely deliver better outcomes in this significant group of patients with DME.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Ophthalmology, Sydney Hospital and Sydney Eye Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia",
        "The Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney Save Sight Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Samantha Fraser-Bell"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Ophthalmology, Sydney Hospital and Sydney Eye Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia",
        "The Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney Save Sight Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Natalie Si-Yi Lee"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Save Sight Institute, The University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine and Health, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Yohei Hashimoto"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Vienna, Austria"
      ],
      "name": "Andreas Pollreisz"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Ophthalmology, OLVG Hospital, Amsterdam, Netherlands"
      ],
      "name": "Antonella Witmer"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Ophthalmology, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy",
        "Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy"
      ],
      "name": "Francesco Viola"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Ophthalmology, Hospital Punta Europa Algeciras, Algeciras, Spain"
      ],
      "name": "Francisco Javier Lavid"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Ophthalmology, The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Helen Steiner"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "The Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney Save Sight Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia",
        "Service d’Ophtalmologie, CHU Dijon, Dijon, France"
      ],
      "name": "Pierre-Henry Gabrielle"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Ophthalmology, Canberra Health Services, Garran, Australian Capital Territory, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Richard Barry"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Ophthalmology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal"
      ],
      "name": "Rufino Silva"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "The Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney Save Sight Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia",
        "Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Vienna, Austria"
      ],
      "name": "Daniel Barthelmes"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Ophthalmology, Sydney Hospital and Sydney Eye Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia",
        "The Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney Save Sight Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Mark C Gillies"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Outcomes of eyes with persistent diabetic macular oedema: The Fight Retinal Blindness! Project",
  "uid": "f9690a30-7c32-57b8-ba93-d9a2936aa5b9"
}