Abstract
Purpose: :
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of intravitreal bevacizumab (1.25mg) as either rescue therapy or primary treatment of subfoveal choroidal neovascularization (CNV) due to pathologic myopia.
Methods: :
All eyes with recurrent or primary subfoveal CNV secondary to myopia and treated between August 2005 and December 2005 with intravitreal bevacizumab 1.25mg were reviewed in a retrospective fashion. Fluorescein angiography, optical coherence tomography (OCT), and Snellen visual acuity were performed at baseline and all follow–up visits to evaluate the efficacy of treatment.
Results: :
Seven eyes of 5 patients (all female) with a mean age of 53 years (range, 44 to 70 years) underwent intravitreal injections with bevazicumab 1.25mg in 0.05ml volume. Four of 7 eyes were previously treated with photodynamic therapy with visudyne, and 3 eyes were treated with bevacizumab alone as primary therapy. Pre–injection Snellen visual acuities (VA) measured 20/20 to 20/40 in no eyes, 20/50 to 20/100 in 5 eyes, and 20/200 or worse in 2 eyes. Mean central foveal thickness (CFT) prior to intravitreal bevacizumab was 311 um (range 253 to 380 um). After a mean follow up of 37 days (range, 21 to 63 days), post–injection VA measured 20/20 to 20/40 in 2 eyes, 20/50 to 20/100 in 5 eyes, and 20 /200 or worse in no eyes. VA improved a mean of +4.6 Snellen lines (range, +2 to +8 lines) with all eyes 20/50 or better. Mean CFT measured 226um (range, 142 to 316um), which represented an average standardized change in macular thickness of 70% (range, 7 to 156%) and an average reduction of 85um (range, 5 to 164um) from pre–injection CFT. All patients received one treatment only. No injection complications or drug–related side effects were observed.
Conclusions: :
In this small series of eyes with limited follow–up, intravitreal bevazicumab appears to be a safe in eyes with subfoveal CNV secondary to pathologic myopia when used as both primary treatment and rescue therapy. Further follow–up is necessary to confirm long term treatment benefit.
Keywords: myopia • choroid: neovascularization • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: outcomes/complications