Research Round-up: Real-World Data Insights from AAO IRIS® Registry Analyses

Over the past year, real-world data (RWD) research in ophthalmology has hit its stride, especially in glaucoma and cataract as well as retinal diseases. Verana Health — in partnership with the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) — has been at the forefront of much of this research to empower the medical community with RWD insights to accelerate clinical research and improve patients’ lives. 

Together, Verana Health and the AAO have actively engaged in curating and analyzing data from the Academy’s IRIS^® Registry, the nation’s first comprehensive eye disease clinical registry and the largest specialty clinical database in medicine. Much of this health informatics work informed key industry insights, leading to multiple studies that have been recently published and presented.

Here is a round-up of the latest RWD research, including studies that were presented at the 2020 AAO annual meeting:

Featured Research

New Insight into Real-World U.S. Anti-VEGF Injection Data
Steven D. Schwartz, MD

Steven D. Schwartz, MD collaborated with Verana Health to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on intravitreal injection usage in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic macular edema (DME) and retinal vein occlusion (RVO). The study “New Insight into Real-World U.S. Injection Data” was presented at AAO 2020 as part of the Retina Subspecialty Day meeting.

Steven D. Schwartz, MD and Verana Health’s Medical Advisor, Theodore Leng, MD, MS joins Ophthalmology Times to discuss Dr. Schwartz’s presentation “New Insight into Real-World U.S. Injection Data.”

Presentations 
Access to presentations may require login to the AAO Annual Meeting platform. 

New Insight into Real-World U.S. Anti-VEGF Injection Data
Steven D. Schwartz, MD
Medical Retina and Retinal Vascular Disease (RET23.07)

Evaluation of Geographic Atrophy (GA) Secondary to AMD in Real-World Clinical Practice: Analysis of the AAO IRIS Registry
Ehsan Rahimy, MD
Late-Breaking Developments, Part II (RET16.11)

The Brolucizumab Experience Thus Far: A Health Economics and Outcomes Research Analysis
Michael Ip, MD
Neovascular AMD (RET15.02)

Posters 
Posters may be viewed in the AAO 2020 Virtual Meeting Poster Archive. Access may require AAO membership. 

Retina 

Profiles and Early Outcomes of Patients Who Initiated Brolucizumab for Neovascular (Wet) AMD in the IRIS^® Registry (PO395) 
Marco Zarbin, MD, PhD 

Glaucoma 

Demographic and Clinical Characteristics of Patients Treated with MIGS, a TM-Inserted Stent, as a Stand-Alone Procedure: An IRIS^® Registry Retrospective Cohort Analysis (PO191)
Robert T. Chang, MD 

Cataract 

Incidence and Frequency Distribution of Monovision with Monofocal IOLs: An Analysis of the AAO Clinical Registry (PO052) 
Shamik Bafna, MD 

Geographic and Demographic Distribution of Implanted IOL Types: An Analysis of the AAO IRIS^® Registry (PO012) 
Maria Scott, MD 

A Retrospective Analysis of the AAO Clinical Registry to Correlate IOL Type and Biomaterial to Time to PCO Diagnosis (PO028) 
Bret L. Fisher, MD 

Other 

Prevalence and Incidence of Allergic Conjunctivitis in the AAO IRIS^® Registry (PO097)
Marguerite McDonald, MD