Abstract
Purpose:
To study the effect of intravitreal bevacizumab (1.25mg) injection (IVBI) on the retinal blood flow and the retinal vessel caliber in patients with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO).
Methods:
We conducted a retrospective, uncontrolled study of 26 patients. Twelve eyes underwent IVBI and were considered to be the study group. The control group composed of 14 eyes, which were observed at least 3 months before retinal photocoagulation. Depending on the clinical requirements, all eyes in the study group had at least one IVBI. Retinal arteriovenous transit time (RAVTT) and visual acuity were used to monitor the evolution of CRVO, and follow up. The diameter of the retinal vessel diameter was measured with using the software available on the IMAGEnet program before the first IVT injection and 30 days after the third injection.
Results:
Initially, the mean RAVTT was 23.0 ± 6.1 seconds in the study group and 28.2 ± 5.4 seconds in the control group. Three months later, RAVTT improved to 17.1 ± 2.9 seconds in the study group, but did not change to 28.4 ± 6.5 second in the control group. The change in RAVTT was statistically significant, only in the study group (p= 0.003). In the study group, the significant vasoconstriction was observed in the retinal vein (P<0.001) after IVBI.
Conclusions:
These results suggest that IVBI may improve retinal blood flow and reduce retinal vein diameter in patients with CRVO. Further studies, evaluating larger sample sizes, are needed to confirm these results and potential adverse effects on the retinal circulation in patients with CRVO.
Keywords: 688 retina •
561 injection •
550 imaging/image analysis: clinical