Abstract
Purpose: :
To evaluate the clinical results of bevacizumab intravitreal injection (BII) in choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to pathologic myopia (PM-CNV).
Methods: :
30 patients with subfoveal PM-CNV, were treated with of 1.25 mg BII. ETDRS best corrected visual acuity, macular thickness on OCT scans, and angiographic features were recorded and evaluated. The aspect of OCT scans passing across the PM-CNV was also analyzed. BII were repeated only in case of persistent angiographic leakage and if OCT scans showed retinal thickening or edema and serous retinal detachment. The follow-up period was at least 1 year.
Results: :
The mean age of the study patients was 43 years (28-51) and the mean refractive error -14.75 D. At 12 months post-treatment, mean VA increased from 20/100 (20/400 -20/40) to 20/60 (20/200-20/25). Only 2 patients lost 38 letters due to macular atrophy; the other 18 increased or stabilized their VA. Mean macular thickness decreased from 329 to 258 µm. No ocular or general side effects were recorded.
Conclusions: :
These short-term results suggest that BII are effective and safe in patients with PM-CNV. The number of patients in this pilot study was limited and the follow-up is too short to make any specific treatment recommendations, but the favorable short-term results suggest further study is needed.
Clinical Trial: :
www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT00797992
Keywords: myopia • retinal neovascularization • drug toxicity/drug effects