Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To investigate the intraocular pressure (IOP) in response to intravitreal injections of triamcinolone acetonide (TA) at the end of pas plana vitrectomy (PPV) as treatment for the treatment of a variety of intraocular diseases. Methods: The prospective, consecutive non–comparative case series study included thirty–two patients with diabetic macular edema (n = 9 eyes), ploliferative diabetic retinopathy (n = 18 eyes), epiretinal membrane (n = 3 eyes), cystoid macular edema due to retinal vein occulusion or uveitis (n = 2 eyes), who received an intravitreal injection of 4 mg TA at the end of PPV. Mean follow up time was 13.03 (SD 0.45) months (range 6.0–16.0 months). Pre–operative and post–operative IOP was compared by the Wilcoxon rank–sum test. Exclusion criteria included ocular hypertension and angle neovascularization preoperatively. Results: An IOP rise to value higher than 21 mmHg was observed in 5 (15.6 %) eyes. Statistical significance was found between pre–operative and post–operative maximum IOP measurements (p<0.01). The elevation of IOP was observed within 3 days after operation in all 5 eyes. In all but one eye, IOP could be normalized by the topical and/or oral medication, and return to the normal values within a week. No statistical significance was detected by the comparison of the age, causal diseases for the vitrectomy, or the injection of expanding gas. Conclusions: While intravitreal injection of 4 mg of TA at the end of PPV caused an IOP elevation in about 15.6 % of eyes, elevated IOP was controllable by the short period medication. However, this safety of TA might not be apply to the corticosteroid responders or non–vitrectomized eyes.
Keywords: injection • vitreoretinal surgery • intraocular pressure