Abstract
Purpose :
Macular edema occurs in up to 30% of patients affected with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), leading to impairment of the central vision. We performed prospective randomized study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of dexamethasone intravitreal implant (DEX implant) in patients with macular edema secondary to RP.
Methods :
Twenty-four eyes of 12 patients with bilateral macular edema associated with RP were recruited in this study. At baseline, patients received DEX implant 0.7 mg in one eye randomly selected. At day 180, patients could receive DEX implant if central foveal thickness was >250 um in any eyes. The changes of central foveal thickness and visual acuity were evaluated up to 12 months.
Results :
Tne mean age of the recruited patients was 52 ± 4.67 years. The central foveal thickness was significantly decreased in the treated eye at 2 months after DEX implant injection compared with the baseline thickness (434.2 ± 36 um vs. 267 ± 17.0 um, p=0.003) and with the untreated fellow eye (378.9 ± 27.1 um, p=0.003). However, the central foveal thickness was rebounded at 4 months after treatment. At day 180, 11 patients received DEX implant in both eyes, leading decrease of central foveal thickness compared with the baseline at 8 months after treatment (419.5 ± 32.1 um vs 297.1 ± 22.8 um p=0.012). There was a significant negative correlation between the change of central foveal thickness and the change of visual acuity (r=0.31, p=0.026). However, the visual acuity was not significantly changed after treatment. Over 12 months, cataract progression occurred in 5 eyes of 16 phakic eyes. Elevation of intraocular pressure that required more than one glaucoma drug occurred in one eye.
Conclusions :
Among patients with macular edema owing to RP, single and repeated treatment with DEX implant can induce anatomic resolution of macular edema with a favorable safety profile over 12 months.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.