Abstract
Purpose: :
To report the visual acuity outcomes associated with intravitreal bevacizumab for the treatment of subfoveal choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to pathologic myopia (PM).
Methods: :
In this prospective, noncomparative, consecutive, interventional case series, patients with subfoveal CNV secondary to PM without any previous treatment were treated with intravitreal injection of bevacizumab (1.5 mg/0.06 mL). Comprehensive ophthalmological examination was performed at baseline and at 1, 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months after injection and included best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), optical coherence tomography (OCT), and fluorescein angiography (FA). Indications for retreatment included actively leaking CNV shown by FA and presence of intraretinal fluid on OCT.
Results: :
Four eyes of 4 patients were included, with a median age of 49.5 years (range 19-63). All patients completed 24 months of follow-up. Only one eye was retreated (at 19 months after the first injection). The median logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) BCVA at baseline was 1.0 (Snellen equivalent, 20/200). At 1, 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months, the median logMAR BCVA improved to 0.60 (Snellen equivalent, 20/80), 0.60 (20/80), 0.60 (20/80), 0.45 (20/50-2), 0.5 (20/63), and 0.33 (20/40-1), respectively. Patients gained a mean number of 3.5, 3.5, 3.5, 5.0, 5.3 and 6.0 lines at 1, 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months after treatment, respectively. No ocular or systemic complications were noted after bevacizumab injection.
Conclusions: :
In this small series, intravitreal bevacizumab (1.5 mg/0.06 mL) was an effective and well tolerated treatment in patients with choroidal neovascularization due to high myopia. Further evaluation in a larger controlled study is necessary to confirm our preliminary findings.
Keywords: myopia • retinal neovascularization • injection