Abstract
Purpose: :
To evaluate the long-term clinical efficacy of intravitreal bevacizumab in patients with macular edema (ME) secondary to retinal vein obstruction (RVO).
Methods: :
Sixteen eyes of 16 patients with decreased visual acuity due to ME with RVO were included. Patients received 3 intravitreal injections of 1.25mg (0.05ml) bevacizumab (Avastin®) at intervals of 6 weeks each. All patients completed 1 year of follow-up. The patients underwent additional bevacizumab injection, if ME was increased in optical coherence tomography (OCT). Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) with ETDRS chart and macular thickness using OCT were measured at baseline and follow-up visits.
Results: :
The mean duration of follow-up was 12.4±1.1 months. The mean baseline BCVA (log MAR) was 0.75±0.32 and the final BCVA (log MAR) was 0.42±0.25, a difference that was statistically significant (p<0.05). Mean macular thickness at baseline by OCT was 588.5±301.0µm and decreased to a mean of 191.8±112.0µm at the end of the follow-up (p<0.05). During follow-up, the mean number of injections was 3.31 and there were no systemic side effects observed associated with bevacizumab and no endophthalmitis or other local side effects occurred.
Conclusions: :
Intravitreal bevacizumab was well tolerated in all patients and effective for improving visual acuity and reducing macular edema for 1 year with 3.31 injections.
Keywords: vascular occlusion/vascular occlusive disease • vascular endothelial growth factor • macula/fovea