title: Intravitreal bevacizumab injections for diabetic macular edema - predictors of response: a retrospective study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Outcomes of intravitreal antivascular endothelial growth factor injections are variable among patients with diabetic macular edema (DME). The aim of this study was to determine the ocular and systemic predictors of DME response to intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB).
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective review over 2 years of 78 eyes from 54 patients. An anatomical response to IVB was defined as a 20% reduction in central macula thickness after the first course (three injections) of IVB.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-eight percent of patients had an anatomical response after the first course of IVB. Systemic hypertension (odds ratio, 95% confidence interval: 12.1, 0.7-21) was a statistically significant predictor (P=0.025) of a good response to IVB, whereas previous macular laser was a statistically significant (P=0.0005) predictor of a poor response (0.07, 0.01-0.32). Sixty-eight percent of eyes underwent subsequent treatment for DME after the first course of IVB. The visual acuity gain at 24 months in hypertensive (0.7±3.6 letters) and nonhypertensive (5.2±3.7 letters) patients was not significantly different (P=0.41).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Hypertension and previous macular laser were positive and negative predictors of response to IVB, respectively. However, long-term visual acuity changes were not significantly different between eyes with and without systemic hypertension.
authors: Department of Clinical Ophthalmology, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, UK; Ophthalmology Department, Ashford & St Peter's NHS Foundation Trust, Ashford, Middlesex, UK; Ophthalmology Department, Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Guildford, Surrey, UK.
authors: Lavnish
authors: L
authors: Joshi
authors: Ophthalmology Department, Wolfson Medical Center, Holon Israel.
authors: Asaf
authors: A
authors: Bar
authors: Department of Clinical Ophthalmology, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, UK; Ophthalmology Department, Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Guildford, Surrey, UK.
authors: Oren
authors: O
authors: Tomkins-Netzer
authors: Department of Clinical Ophthalmology, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, UK.
authors: Satish
authors: S
authors: Yaganti
authors: Department of Clinical Ophthalmology, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, UK.
authors: Jiten
authors: J
authors: Morarji
authors: Department of Clinical Ophthalmology, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, UK.
authors: Panayiotis
authors: P
authors: Vouzounis
authors: Department of Clinical Ophthalmology, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, UK; Ophthalmology Department, Wolfson Medical Center, Holon Israel.
authors: Sophie
authors: S
authors: Seguin-Greenstein
authors: Ophthalmology Department, Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Guildford, Surrey, UK; Ophthalmology Department, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, UK.
authors: Simon R
authors: SR
authors: Taylor
authors: Department of Clinical Ophthalmology, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, UK; Ophthalmology Department, Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Guildford, Surrey, UK.
authors: Sue
authors: S
authors: Lightman
keywords: diabetes; intravitreal therapy; macular edema