Evolving Treatment Patterns in Diabetic Macular Edema Between 2015 and 2020.

To explore the recent evolution of diabetic macular edema (DME) treatment practice patterns over 5 years among retina specialists in the United States. This retrospective analysis assessed 306 700 eyes with newly diagnosed DME from the Vestrum Health database between January 2015 and October 2020. The year-over-year and cumulative 5-year distributions of eyes treated with antivascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents, steroids, focal laser, or any combination and those of untreated eyes were calculated. Changes from baseline visual acuity were assessed. Yearly treatment patterns changed significantly from 2015 (n = 18056) to 2020 (n = 11042). The proportion of untreated patients declined over time (32.7% vs 27.7%; < .001), the use of anti-VEGF monotherapy increased (43.5% vs 61.8%; < .001), the use of focal laser monotherapy declined (9.7% vs 3.0%; < .001), and the use of steroid monotherapy remained stable (0.9% vs 0.7%; = 1.000). Of eyes that maintained follow-up for 5 years (from 2015 to 2020), 16.3% were untreated while 77.5% were treated with anti-VEGF agents (as monotherapy or combination therapy). Vision gains in treated patients remained approximately stable from 2015 (3.6 letters) to 2020 (3.5 letters). From 2015 to 2020, treatment patterns for DME evolved toward greater anti-VEGF monotherapy, stable steroid monotherapy, less laser monotherapy, and fewer untreated eyes.