INTRAVITREAL BEVACIZUMAB (AVASTIN) FOR TREATMENT OF PERSISTENT MACULAR EDEMA IN VITRECTOMIZED EYES: Limited Effect and Early Recurrence.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the effect of an intravitreal injection of bevacizumab on visual acuity of and foveal thickness in vitrectomized eyes with persistent macular edema.


METHODS
Bevacizumab (1.25 mg/0.05 mL) was injected into the vitreous of 10 eyes of 10 patients with macular edema that persisted after vitrectomy. Seven eyes had macular edema associated with diabetic retinopathy, and three eyes had branch retinal vein occlusion. Main outcome measures were foveal thickness measured by optical coherence tomography and best-corrected visual acuity before and 1 week, 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months after the injection.


RESULTS
Foveal thickness was reduced by 15% at 1 week after bevacizumab injection but returned to the pretreatment level by 1 month. Improvement in logarithm of the minimal angle of resolution (logMAR) visual acuity after the injection was not significant, and only one eye had improvement (>0.2 logMAR) of visual acuity at 3 months.


CONCLUSIONS
These results indicate that intravitreal bevacizumab therapy is limited for eyes with macular edema that persists after vitrectomy.
From the Department of Ophthalmology, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
Mineo
M
Kondo
Yasuki
Y
Ito
Hiroko
H
Terasaki