Macular oedema in central retinal vein occlusion treated with intravitreal triamcinolone.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the efficacy of intravitreal triamcinolone as treatment for macular oedema in central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO).


METHODS
We conducted a retrospective comparative case series of nine patients with macular oedema associated with CRVO (six non-ischaemic and three ischaemic) treated with an intravitreal injection of 4 mg triamcinolone acetonide, compared with 10 control (observation) patients (six non-ischaemic and four ischaemic). Examination included visual acuity (VA) tests and complete ophthalmic examinations at baseline, 1, 2 and 6 months postoperatively.


RESULTS
The mean baseline VA was 20/161 for CRVO treatment group patients and 20/75 for observation group patients (p = 0.15). No significant difference in VA between CRVO treatment group patients (20/99) and controls (20/282) was observed at the final 6-month visit (p = 0.33). Subgroup analysis of the non-ischaemic CRVO treatment patients compared with the non-ischaemic controls also showed no significant difference at the 6-month visit (20/59 and 20/100, respectively; p = 0.20). At 6 months, five of the six non-ischaemic treated patients had VA >or= 20/100, compared with five of the six non-ischaemic control patients. All patients tolerated the procedure well, but there was a significant increase in intraocular pressure by the 2-month visit (p = 0.015).


CONCLUSIONS
Intravitreal injection of triamcinolone may not be effective for treatment of macular oedema in all CRVO patients or all non-ischaemic CRVO patients. A trend towards VA improvement was noted but was not statistically significant. Although our treatment was not hindered by severe complications, there was a significant increase in IOP in the 2 months following treatment.
Gelston
Christopher D
CD
Department of Ophthalmology, Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Institute, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, 80041, USA.
Olson
Jeffrey L
JL
Mandava
Naresh
N
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007267:Injections; D007429:Intraocular Pressure; D007511:Ischemia / Q000150:complications; D008269:Macular Edema / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012170:Retinal Vein Occlusion / Q000150:complications*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014222:Triamcinolone Acetonide / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014792:Visual Acuity; D014822:Vitreous Body
D005938:Glucocorticoids; D014222:Triamcinolone Acetonide