Intravitreal triamcinolone as primary treatment of cystoid macular edema secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion.
OBJECTIVE
To describe six patients treated with intravitreal triamcinolone (IVT) as primary therapy for cystoid macular edema (CME) secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO).


METHODS
Retrospective case series.


RESULTS
The age of the patients ranged from 53 years to 87 years (mean, 66 years). The time between BRVO and treatment with IVT ranged from 2.0 months to 4.7 months (mean, 3.5 months). Pretreatment visual acuity ranged from 20/40 to 6/200 (mean, 20/166). Length of follow-up ranged from 107 days to 175 days (mean, 149.5 days). Final visual acuity ranged from 20/40 to 3/200 (mean, 20/137). Three of six eyes showed improvement in vision. All three patients who did not have vision improvement were treated with a second injection. At the final follow-up visit, all six eyes had improved vision from baseline. Five (83.3%) of six eyes showed an improvement of > or = 2 lines of vision. One patient had a postoperative rise in intraocular pressure requiring a trabeculectomy. Final visual acuity in the 6 eyes ranged from 20/200 to 20/30 (mean, 20/106).


CONCLUSIONS
IVT may be of potential use in treating CME due to BRVO, as either a primary or an adjunctive treatment modality. A prospective, randomized trial to clarify this role is warranted.
Lee
Henry
H
Barnes Retina Institute and Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63144, USA.
Shah
Gaurav K
GK
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007267:Injections; D007429:Intraocular Pressure; D008269:Macular Edema / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012170:Retinal Vein Occlusion / Q000150:complications*; D019233:Retreatment; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D014222:Triamcinolone Acetonide / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014792:Visual Acuity; D014822:Vitreous Body
D005938:Glucocorticoids; D014222:Triamcinolone Acetonide