title: Dexamethasone implant in diabetic macular edema in real-life situations.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To report outcome of eyes with recalcitrant and naive eyes with diabetic macular edema (DME) treated with intravitreal dexamethasone implants (Ozurdex) injection.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective multicenter data analysis of eyes with DME treated with Ozurdex implant and with minimum follow-up of at least one year after the first implant. Data collected included demographic details, history of presenting illness, past treatment history, clinical examination details including visual acuity at presentation, and follow-up with imaging and treatment details. Paired sample t-test was used to measure mean differences between pre- and post-implant values obtained at baseline and last follow-up.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 79 eyes (62 subjects) were included. Sixty-four eyes had been previously treated; 15 eyes were naive. Among the previously treated eyes, mean interval between first Ozurdex injection and any previous treatment was 7.69±8.2 months. In naive eyes, the visual acuity improved from baseline 0.58±0.25 to 0.44±0.33 logMAR at last follow-up (P=0.05). In eyes that had been previously treated, the improvement was from 0.65±0.34 at baseline to 0.48±0.35 logMAR (P=0.01). Mean treatment-free interval was 6.5±4.5 months. Nine eyes were steroid responder with controlled intraocular pressure (IOP), none showed any spike in IOP during the follow-up period.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Ozurdex implant could be a good alternative for recalcitrant as well as naive eyes with DME. The visual gain after initial implant injection was fairly maintained, with additional treatment usually after 6 months in naive eyes. Ozurdex appeared safe even in steroid responders with good control of IOP with antiglaucoma medications.
authors.affiliation: Smt. Kanuri Santhamma Retina Vitreous Centre, L.V. Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, India.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chhablani
authors.affiliation: Dr Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bansal
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Udine Piazzale S. Maria della Misericordia, Udine, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Veritti
authors.affiliation: Smt. Kanuri Santhamma Retina Vitreous Centre, L.V. Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sambhana
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Udine Piazzale S. Maria della Misericordia, Udine, Italy.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sarao
authors.affiliation: San Giuseppe Hospital, University Eye Clinic, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pichi
authors.affiliation: San Giuseppe Hospital, University Eye Clinic, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Carrai
authors.affiliation: San Giuseppe Hospital, University Eye Clinic, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Massaro
authors.affiliation: San Giuseppe Hospital, University Eye Clinic, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lembo
authors.affiliation: American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.|Rafic Hariri University Hospital, Beirut, Lebanon.|Department of Ophthalmology, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Mansour
authors.affiliation: Banker's Retina Clinic and Laser Centre, Ahmedabad, India.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Banker
authors.affiliation: Vasan eye Care Hospitals, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.|Rafic Hariri University Hospital, Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hamam
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Udine Piazzale S. Maria della Misericordia, Udine, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lanzetta
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004343:Drug Implants; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure; D058449:Intravitreal Injections; D008269:Macular Edema / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D004343:Drug Implants; D005938:Glucocorticoids; D003907:Dexamethasone