Abstract
Purpose:
The fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant (Iluvien) has recently been approved by NICE as a new treatment in chronic diabetic macular oedema (DMO) in pseudophakic patients who have poorly responded to other available treatments.<br /> The purpose of this study is to evaluate the results of Iluvien intravitreal implant in patients with chronic DMO in the setting of an University Hospital in UK.
Methods:
18 eyes of 16 patients were treated with Iluvien intravitreal implant. 4 out of 18 eyes were vitrectomised before treatment. Data was collected retrospectively, analyzing the patients’s notes and OCT scans. We reviewed the pre- and post-treatment visual acuity (VA), central retinal thickness (CRT) and the post-treatment intraocular pressure (IOP).
Results:
The average VA improvement post-treatment was -0.1 LogMAR (P=0.0366). OCT analysis demonstrated average CRT reduction of 87 microns post-treatment (P= 0.00133). The VA was stabilised in 5 (27.77%), improved in 11 (61.11%) and got worse in 2 (11.11%) eyes.<br /> The average time between treatment and final VA assessment was 4.5 months. Complications included : raised IOP requiring topical treatment in 4 (22 %) of cases and anterior chamber migration of the implant in 2 (11%) of the patients.
Conclusions:
The results in our unit demonstrate that patients with chronic DMO treated with Iluvien implant achieved significant anatomical and visual improvement. Early real life experience demonstrates that Iluvien intravitreal implant is another option in DMO unresponsive to previous treatment modalities.