Abstract
Purpose:
to compare the anatomical and visual outcomes following intravitreal dexamethasone implant (Ozurdex) between eyes with visual loss due to recent onset and chronic macular edema (ME) secondary to retinal vein occlusion (RVO).
Methods:
we retrospectively analyzed medical records of two series of consecutive patients with ME secondary to RVO treated with Ozurdex from June 2011 to November 2012. The first group included 40 patients affected by newly diagnosed, previously untreated ME, associated with recent onset RVO. The second group comprised 34 eyes with persistent or recurrent ME that had undergone previous treatments. The primary outcome measures were best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central macular thickness (CMT) at baseline, follow-up (1,3,6,12,16 months) and final visit (mean = 7 months in group 1 and 8 months in group 2) . The safety of the implant was also evaluated.
Results:
at baseline mean CMT was 839,3 µm in group 1 and 615,7 µm in group 2 and mean BCVA was 0.2 in both groups. At the final visit mean CMT was 326 µm in group 1 and 510 µm in group 2, mean BCVA was 0.4 in group 1 and 0.28 in group 2. Significant improvements in BCVA and CMT were found in both groups (p 0.001), nevertheless better improvements were experienced by eyes with recent onset, previously untreated ME as compared with chronic ME (p 0.0082). No serious ocular or systemic adverse events were observed.
Conclusions:
in our study population Ozurdex was a safe and effective therapeutic option for the treatment of ME associated with retinal vein occlusion (RVO) both in recent onset and in recurrent ME. Nevertheless, improvements in BCVA and CMT were higher in eyes affected by recent onset, previously untreated ME.
Keywords: 749 vascular occlusion/vascular occlusive disease