Subthreshold grid laser treatment of macular edema secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion with micropulse infrared (810 nanometer) diode laser.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the effectiveness of subthreshold grid laser treatment (SGLT) with an infrared micropulse diode laser with that of threshold grid laser treatment (TGLT) for macular edema secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO).


METHODS
Randomized clinical trial.


METHODS
Thirty-six patients (36 eyes) were randomized either to infrared SGLT (17 eyes) or to krypton TGLT (19 eyes).


METHODS
Complete ophthalmic examinations, including determination of visual acuity (VA) with Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study charts, optical coherence tomography (OCT), and fluorescein angiography, were performed at the time of the study entry and at 6-month intervals, with a planned follow-up of 24 months.


METHODS
Primary: decrease in mean foveal thickness (FT) on OCT. Secondary: changes of the total macular volume (TMV) over the follow-up, proportion of eyes that gained at least 10 letters (approximately > or =2 lines of VA gain) at the 12- and 24-month examinations, and timing of macular edema resolution.


RESULTS
Changes in mean FT and TMV from the initial values were statistically significant for TGLT from the 6-month examination (P<0.001) and for SGLT from the 12-month examination (P<0.001). After 1 year, there was no difference in mean FT and TMV between the 2 groups. At the 12-month examination, 10 patients of the SGLT group (59%) and 11 of the TGLT group (58%) gained at least 10 letters (2 lines) in VA. At the 24-month examination, this gain was achieved by 11 patients (65%) of the SGLT group and 11 (58%) of the TGLT group. Moreover, at the 24-month examination 59% and 26% gained 3 lines in the SGLT and TGLT groups, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Resolution of macular edema and VA improvement are similar to those obtained with conventional TGLT, but SGLT is not associated with biomicroscopic and angiographic signs. A multicenter randomized clinical trial would be needed to ascertain the real efficacy and the most appropriate settings of SGLT for macular edema secondary to BRVO.
Parodi
Maurizio Battaglia
MB
Eye Clinic, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Trieste, Trieste, Italy. maubp@yahoo.it
Spasse
Sonela
S
Iacono
Pierluigi
P
Di Stefano
Giuseppe
G
Canziani
Tiziana
T
Ravalico
Giuseppe
G
D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D006801:Humans; D017075:Laser Coagulation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D008269:Macular Edema / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012170:Retinal Vein Occlusion / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity