Treatment of Refractory Cystoid Macular Edema with Pegylated Interferon Alfa-2A: A Retrospective Chart Review

ABSTRACT

Purpose: To determine the efficacy of pegylated interferon alfa-2A in the treatment of refractory inflammatory cystoid macular edema (CME)

Methods: Retrospective chart review

Results: Treatment with pegylated interferon alfa-2A led to an improvement in CME in all eyes of seven included patients, with a mean decrease in CMT from 478 µm to 310 µm (p < .05). The vision in one patient did not improve due to preexisting retinal atrophy. All other eyes showed improvement in vision, with a mean improvement in best LogMAR visual acuity from +0.59 to +0.28 (p < .05). The treatment effect was sustained with low-dose treatment every 2 weeks or less in the majority of patients. Two patients who stopped interferon treatment given flu-like symptoms and intolerable rash, respectively, showed rapid recurrence of CME.

Conclusions: Weekly administration of pegylated interferon alfa-2A is an effective treatment for refractory inflammatory CME, though side effects may limit tolerability in some patients.

KEYWORDS:

• Pegylated interferon (peginterferon alfa-2A)
• uveitis
• cystoid macular edema

Authorship

All authors attest that they meet the current ICMJE criteria for Authorship.

Disclosures

Dr. Suhler reports grants, personal fees and non-financial support from AbbVie, grants from Bristol-Meyers-Squibb, grants from Clearside, grants and personal fees from EyeGate, grants, personal fees and non-financial support from EyePoint, grants and personal fees from Gilead, personal fees from Mallinckrodt, personal fees from Santen, personal fees from XOMA, and grants and personal fees from Genentech. Dr. Albini receives support from Allegro Ophthalmics, Eyepoint Pharmaceuticals Inc, Beaver Visitec, Novartis, Santen Pharmaceuticals, Genentech, Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Notal Vision, Janssen Biotech Inc, and Clearside Biomedical Inc. The other authors have nothing to disclose. No competing financial interests exist.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest relevant to this work. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Additional information

Funding

We are grateful for the following support: Unrestricted Grant for Research to Prevent Blindness, New York, NY; National Eye Institute (NEI), National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (P30 EY010572); Casey Eye Institute NIH Core Grant (P30 EY010572); the Klorfine Foundation (TAA); and the Department of Veterans Affairs.