Abstract
Purpose: :
To evaluate the efficacy of intravitreal pegaptanib sodium in the treatment of patients with Stage 3A Coats’ disease.
Methods: :
In a retrospective, interventional, consecutive case series, 6 eyes of 5 patients with Coats’ disease were treated with 0.3 mg intravitreal pegaptanib sodium injection at Stroger Cook County Hospital Division of Ophthalmology. All patients gave informed consent. All patients had complete ophthalmic examination and pre and post-injection fundus photography and fluorescein angiography. Follow-up was as medically indicated.
Results: :
All patients were male. Average age was 26.2 years (range 17 to 32). Visual acuity at presentation ranged from 20/400 to light perception. Mean number of injections was 1.8 (range 1 to 3). Average follow-up time was 13.6 months (range 3 to 26). All six eyes had improvement in exudation. Vision at last follow-up improved in 5 and was unchanged in 1 (range 20/40 to HM). Two eyes improved from CF at 2 feet to 20/60 and 20/40, respectively. No patients had adverse events secondary to the intravitreal pegaptanib sodium injection.
Conclusions: :
The 2 eyes that had dramatic visual improvement with intravitreal pegaptanib sodium were those that presented within the first 1 to 2 months of onset of symptoms. In the remaining 4 eyes, which presented with chronic exudative retinal detachments, the exudation improved in all 4 with vision improving in 3. In this small series, intravitreal pegaptanib sodium appears to be safe and efficacious in patients with Stage 3A Coats’ disease with few re-treatments necessary.
Keywords: retinal neovascularization • vascular endothelial growth factor • injection