Abstract
Purpose :
Fluocinolone acetonide (FA) is a 190 mcg intravitreal implant has been approved by NICE guidelines for the treatment of persistent chronic diabetic macular edema (DME) in pseudophakic patients who have not responded sufficiently to first line treatment. Since the FAME studies, there has been little evidence from the results of the intravitreal implant in a real world setting. This study aims to report two-year real life outcomes of ILUVIEN in patients who received the implant in our hospital.
Methods :
Retrospective case series of 24 eyes of 22 consecutive diabetic patients who received the FA implant for the treatment of persistent chronic DME and were followed up for a minimum of 24 months. Data analysis included the evaluation of best corrected visual acuity in ETDRS letters, central retinal thickness and intraocular pressure at baseline, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months and 24 months.
Results :
The mean visual gain was +5.3 ETDRS letters was at 12 months, and +2.7 letters by 24 months. At the end of the 24 month follow up, 14% of the study eyes gained 10 or more ETDRS letters from baseline. At 24 months, 86% of patients had experienced a reduction in CRT with a mean change of -121 μm. Increased IOP was observed in 58.3% of the patients and only 13% of eyes underwent glaucoma surgery, IOP being adequately controlled with IOP-lowering drops in the rest of the cases.
Conclusions :
Our results show that the FA implant has a positive effect on the treatment of chronic DME. However, IOP monitoring remains essential in patients receiving the implant.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.