Abstract
Purpose :
While steroids have been frequently employed in the treatment of diabetic macular edema(DME), fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant(FAII) is a relatively new modality whose reported clinical outcomes are limited. This study seeks to elucidate outcomes in subjects from a large private practice retina group. Specifically, we aim to look at the percentage of subjects with two lines or greater improvement of visual acuity at six months out from treatment, and to study the percentage of subjects with decreased central macular thickness after six months.
Methods :
A retrospective chart review from a subject database was performed to study subjects who recieved fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant(FAII) from 2014 to 2016 within a private practice retina group. Subjects met the inclusion criteria if they received FAII for DME and had a follow up of at least 6 months. Subjects were excluded if the baseline visual acuity fell outside of the 20/40 to 20/400 range or if follow up testing was missed.
Results :
Of the subjects found in the database search, ten eyes met the set criteria. Thirty percent of the subjects met the primary endpoint with an improvement in visual acuity of two lines or better. Seventy percent of the subjects realized a decrease in the central macular thickness six months after recieving FAII. Complications included two (20%) subjects who developed ocular hypertension, cataract progression in three of three phakic subjects in the study, and one vitreous hemorrhage associated with the treatment.
Conclusions :
A sustained decrease in central macular thickness was seen in seventy percent of subjects six months out from treatment. An improvement in visual acuity of 2 lines or more was achieved by thirty percent of subjects. Overall, extended duration intravitreal corticosteroids can be very effective in reducing macular thickness and improving vision in diabetic macular edema.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Baltimore, MD, May 7-11, 2017.