Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose. To evaluate the duration of the effect of intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide on visual acuity in patients with exudative age–related macular degeneration. Methods.The prospective clinical interventional case–series study included 42 patients (44 eyes) with exudative age–related macular degeneration, who showed an increase in visual acuity by at least 2 Snellen lines after an intravitreal injection of 20 to 25 mg triamcinolone acetonide. Mean follow–up was 10.4 ± 7.0 months (3.1 – 31.7 months). Main outcome measures were visual acuity and intraocular pressure. Results. Within the first week after the injection, visual acuity and intraocular pressure started to increase significantly (p=0.008) by reaching a plateau–like maximum at 1 to 6 months after the injection. Visual acuity returned to baseline values 8 to 9 months after the injection. Development and amount of increase of intraocular pressure was statistically (p>0.15) independent of the amount of increase in visual acuity. Conclusions. In patients with an increase of visual acuity after an intravitreal injection of 20 to 25 mg triamcinolone acetonide as treatment for exudative age–related macular degeneration, duration of the effect of triamcinolone acetonide may last up to 8 to 9 months. It may suggest that triamcinolone might be re–injected about 6 to 9 months after a primary successful injection. Intraocular pressure has to be checked for several months after the injection. The findings that visual acuity increased and decreased in parallel manner to the steroid–induced changes in intraocular pressure might suggests that the increase in visual acuity was related to the presence of intraocular triamcinolone acetonide.
Keywords: age–related macular degeneration • neovascularization • intraocular pressure