Abstract
Purpose: To investigate the visual and anatomical effects of intravitreal bevacizumab treatment of macular edema due to central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO).
Methods: Data were collected by medical chart review for 35 consecutive patients (35 eyes) with CRVO-induced macular edema treated with intravitreal bevacizumab in 2007–2010 and followed for at least 6 months. All patients received 3–4 loading doses (1.25 mg) with follow-up every 6–8 weeks and repeated injections as necessary.
Results: Mean patient age was 65.5 years (SD 13.5); mean follow-up time, 17.7 months (SD 10.8); mean number of injections, 9.3 (SD 5). Mean logMAR visual acuity (VA) improved from 0.9 (SD 0.49) at baseline to 0.7 (SD 0.5) at the last visit; corresponding Snellen values were 6/98 and 6/15 (p = 0.009). Four patients (11%) lost ≥3 lines, and 13 patients (37%) gained ≥3 lines. There was a positive correlation between initial and final VA (p < 0.0005). Central macular thickness (CMT) measured 489.5 microns (SD 175) at baseline and 395 microns (SD 223) at the last visit (p = 0.24). VA gain was positively correlated with CMT reduction (p < 0.0001).
Conclusions: Intravitreal bevacizumab treatment of CRVO-induced macular edema improves vision, especially in patients with good initial VA.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors thank Mrs Gloria Ginzach and Mrs Melanie Kave for their editorial assistance, and Mrs Nava Jelin for the statistical analysis.
Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest.