Abstract
Purpose :
To investigate functional and anatomical effects of intravitreal aflibercept (IVA) and bevacizumab (IVB) injections for retinal vein occlusion, and possible differences between 2 drugs very shortly after treatment.
Methods :
LogMAR visual acuity, central macular thickness and subfoveal choroidal thickness in patients with retinal vein occlusion undergoing either alibercept or bevacizumab injection were retrospectively analysed. Changes of the parameters at 1 day and 1 week after injection were compared between IVA and IVB groups.
Results :
There were 42 eyes of 42 patients (22 females, mean age: 68.7 years) including 42 eyes with retinal vein occlusions, which had not been treated previously. The change rates of central retinal thickness of IVA group (N=18) and IVB group (N=24) were 55.17±15.01% and 75.85±15.78% at 1day after injection (unpaired t test, P<0.001) and 40.52±15.46% and 46.58±23.96% at 1 week (P=0.451) respectively. The change rates of subfoveal choroidal thicknesses of IVA and IVB were 91.18±15.74% and 101.20±9.67% (P=0.022) at 1day and 84.07±14.13% and 96.11±6.39% (P=0.016) at 1 week, respectively. Changes of LogMAR visual acuity were not different between the 2 groups (P=0.715 at 1day and P=0.095 at 1 week).
Conclusions :
Aflibercept appears to make retina and choroid thinner than bevacizumab shortly after injection, whose long-term significance for functional outcomes remains to be elucidated.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.