Abstract
Purpose:
To assess the effect of repeated anti-VEGF intravitreal injections on the retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFL).
Methods:
This was a retrospective chart review of thirty-three consecutive patients who received multiple intravitreal injections of anti-VEGF medications in one eye. The fellow eye was used as a control. RNFL thickness was measured using spectral domain OCT (Spectralis SD-OCT, Heidelberg, Germany) with a minimum follow-up of 12 months.
Results:
60% of the patients were female, and 40% were male with an average age of 71.6 years. 45% of the patients were being treated for exudative age-related macular degeneration, 30% for diabetic macular edema, 20% for proliferative diabetic retinopathy, and 5% for venous occlusions. 50% received ranibizumab, 30% pegaptanib, 15% bevacizumab and 5% aflibercept. At the 12 month follow up, the mean number of injections received were 7.4 and the mean RNFL thickness was 100.5 microns in the treated eyes versus 102 microns in the fellow eye (P=0.186).
Conclusions:
There was a tendency toward thinner RNFL readings in the anti-VEGF treated eyes versus their controls. No statistical significance was observed.
Keywords: 610 nerve fiber layer