title: Single intravitreal bevacizumab injection effects on contrast sensitivity in macular edema from branch retinal vein occlusion.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effect of a single intravitreal bevacizumab injection on visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and optical coherence tomography-measured central macular thickness in eyes with macular edema from branch retinal vein occlusion.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventeen eyes of 17 patients with macular edema from unilateral branch retinal vein occlusion were treated with a single bevacizumab injection. Patients were submitted to a complete evaluation including best corrected visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and optical coherence tomography measurements before treatment and one and three months after injection. Visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and optical coherence tomography measurements were compared to baseline values.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean visual acuity measurement improved from 0.77 logMAR at baseline to 0.613 logMAR one month after injection (P=0.0001) but worsened to 0.75 logMAR after three months. Contrast sensitivity test demonstrated significant improvement at spatial frequencies of 3, 6, 12 and 18 cycles/degree one month after injection and at the spatial frequency of 12 cycles/degree three months after treatment. Mean ± standard deviation baseline central macular thickness (552 ± 150 µm) reduced significantly one month (322 ± 127 µm, P=0.0001) and three months (439 ± 179 µm, P=0.01) after treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Bevacizumab injection improves visual acuity and contrast sensitivity and reduces central macular thickness one month after treatment. Visual acuity returns to baseline levels at the 3-month follow-up, but some beneficial effect of the treatment is still present at that time, as evidenced by optical coherence tomography-measured central macular thickness and contrast sensitivity measurements.
authors.affiliation: Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil. rypreti@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Rony Carlos
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Preti
authors.forename: Lisa Mariel Vasquez
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Ramirez
authors.forename: Sergio Luis Gianotti
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Pimentel
authors.forename: Augusto Alves Lopes
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Motta
authors.forename: Cleide Guimarães
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.forename: Mário Luiz Ribeiro
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Monteiro
authors.forename: Walter Yukihiko
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Takahashi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000068258:Bevacizumab; D015350:Contrast Sensitivity / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D056965:Injections, Intraocular; D008269:Macular Edema / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D012170:Retinal Vein Occlusion / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D020533:Angiogenesis Inhibitors; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D000068258:Bevacizumab