Onset and duration of visual acuity improvement after dexamethasone intravitreal implant in eyes with macular edema due to retinal vein occlusion.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the onset and duration of improvement in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in eyes treated with dexamethasone intravitreal implant 0.7 mg (DEX implant) for macular edema after branch or central retinal vein occlusion.


METHODS
Post hoc analysis of data from 2 previously reported multicenter, 6-month, randomized sham-controlled clinical trials. Patients received a single DEX implant (n = 427) or sham procedure (n = 426) in the study eye. The primary endpoint was the percentage of eyes with ≥ 15-letter improvement in BCVA from baseline at postimplant Day 7.


RESULTS
The baseline mean BCVA was 20/80. At Day 7, 10.3% of DEX implant-treated eyes versus 4.0% of sham-treated eyes (P < 0.001) had ≥ 15-letter improvement in the BCVA, and 27.2% of DEX implant-treated eyes versus 10.6% of sham-treated eyes had ≥ 10-letter improvement (P < 0.001). The mean improvement at Day 7 was 5.3 letters (branch retinal vein occlusion, 5.1; and central retinal vein occlusion, 5.8) with DEX implant and 1.6 letters (branch retinal vein occlusion, 2.3; and central retinal vein occlusion, 0.1) with sham (P < 0.001). The mean time from initial observation of ≥ 15-letter BCVA gain to the last observation of ≥ 15-letter BCVA gain was 70 days.


CONCLUSIONS
Dexamethasone intravitreal implant treatment led to improvement in BCVA compared with sham procedure as early as postimplant Day 7. The duration of ≥ 3-line improvement was typically 2 to 3 months.
*Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, University of California, Irvine, California; †Wills Eye Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; ‡University of Udine, Udine, Italy; §Department of Ophthalmology, Tel Aviv Medical Center and Sackler Facility of Medicine, Tel Aviv, Israel; and ¶Allergan, Inc, Irvine, California.
Baruch D
BD
Kuppermann
Julia A
JA
Haller
Francesco
F
Bandello
Anat
A
Loewenstein
Jenny
J
Jiao
Xiao-Yan
XY
Li
Scott M
SM
Whitcup
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004343:Drug Implants; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D008269:Macular Edema / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012170:Retinal Vein Occlusion / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*; D014822:Vitreous Body
D004343:Drug Implants; D005938:Glucocorticoids; D003907:Dexamethasone