title: Intravitreal dexamethasone implant in patients with persistent macular edema of variable etiologies.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the effect of an intravitreal dexamethasone drug delivery system (DEX-DDS) in the treatment of persistent cystoid macular edema (CME) of different etiologies.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-seven eyes with persistent CME were treated with DEX-DDS and analyzed for changes in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and optical coherence tomography. Eyes were categorized into three groups: diabetic macular edema (DME, n = 14), vein occlusion (n = 15) and uveitis (n = 7).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean follow-up was 22 ± 6.9 weeks. BCVA improved from 0.62 ± 0.38 to 0.35 ± 0.29 logMAR (p < 0.0001). Central macular thickness decreased by 184 ± 246 µm from baseline (p < 0.0001). In eyes where CME resolved and recurred, the average CME-free period was 11 weeks. The uveitis group showed faster CME resolution (2 weeks) and a longer CME-free period (20 weeks). Similar efficacy was shown for repeat DEX-DDS injections. The safety profile was good.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  DEX-DDS is beneficial in the treatment of persistent CME. In cases of uveitis, CME resolution is rapid, resulting in the longest effect duration, when compared with other CME etiologies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Tel Aviv Medical Center and the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Nir
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sorkin
authors.forename: Anat
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Loewenstein
authors.forename: Zohar
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Habot-Wilner
authors.forename: Michaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goldstein
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004343:Drug Implants; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D058449:Intravitreal Injections; D008269:Macular Edema / Q000145:classification / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D004343:Drug Implants; D005938:Glucocorticoids; D003907:Dexamethasone