To evaluate the influence of axial length on the recurrence of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) after anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy.

A retrospective review of the medical records for 45 eyes of 45 patients, who were diagnosed with neovascular AMD and treated with three ranibizumab injections per month, was performed. Axial length was compared between eyes with (recurrence group) and without (no recurrence group) recurrence of fluid during a 12-month follow-up period. In eyes with recurrence, the association between axial length and the time between the third injection and the first recurrence was also evaluated.

The axial length was measured at a mean of 20.6 ± 10.1 months after the diagnosis of neovascular AMD. The mean axial length at that time was 23.33 ± 0.90 mm. The mean axial length was 23.29 ± 0.96 mm in the recurrence group (n = 30) and 23.40 ± 0.79 mm in the no-recurrence group (n = 15). There was no difference in the axial length between the two groups ( p = 0.709). In the recurrence group, the period between the third injection and the first recurrence was not associated with axial length ( p =0.582).

There was no significant difference in axial length between eyes with and without recurrence after initial treatment for wet AMD. In addition, the time to first recurrence was not significantly associated with axial length. Because the present study was retrospective and the sample size was small, further prospective studies with a better design are needed to more accurately assess the influence of axial length.