Abstract
Purpose :
This study was performed to determine whether a simultaneous injection of dexamethasone intravitreal implant 0.7 mg (dexamethasone delivery system [DDS], OzurdexTM) and bevacizumab 1.25 mg is more effective than bevacizumab monotherapy for the treatment of branched retinal vein occlusion (BRVO).
Methods :
Treatment and outcomes data were collected retrospectively for 51 eyes from 51 patients who underwent simultaneous DDS and bevacizumab injection or bevacizumab injection alone. The treatment protocol was to inject DDS and bevacizumab simultaneously at baseline, and subsequent bevacizumab (at Months 1 and 2) in the combined treatment group (n=24), whereas monotherapy eyes (n=27) received bevacizumab monthly for 3 months (including baseline). Outcome measures included visual acuity, central retinal thickness (CMT) at 3 and 6 month after initial treatment, and pain questionnaire scores were calculated at the day of injection.
Results :
The mean visual acuity changes from baseline to 6 months were similar in the 2 groups (combined: +7.4 letters; bevacizumab: +6.9 letters; P=0.32), however at 3 months, there was a significant improvement in mean visual acuity (+8.1 lines, P< 0.05) in eyes with simultaneous DDS and bevacizumab injection compared to bevacizumab alone. The mean reduction in CMT was greater in the combination group at both 3 and 6 month (P< 0.05). The pain questionnaire score was greater in the combined group (P<0.05) and no adverse effect was observed in both groups.
Conclusions :
Simultaneous injection of dexamethasone implant combined with bevacizumab significantly improves visual acuity in a relatively short period compared to bevacizumab alone and improves macular morphology in eyes with BRVO.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.