scholarly journals Treatment strategies for refractory diabetic macular edema: switching anti-VEGF treatments, adopting corticosteroid-based treatments, and combination therapy

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rehan M. Hussain ◽  
Thomas A. Ciulla
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ning-Yi Hsia ◽  
Chun-Ju Lin ◽  
Huan-Sheng Chen ◽  
Cheng-Hsien Chang ◽  
Henry Bair ◽  
...  

Introduction: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of intravitreal dexamethasone (DEX) implants in refractory diabetic macular edema (DME) treated by intravitreal ranibizumab.Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed DME patients who received DEX implant treatment after being refractory to at least 3 monthly intravitreal ranibizumab injections. The main outcomes were best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central retinal thickness (CRT), and intraocular pressure (IOP).Results: Twenty-nine eyes of 26 patients who had previously received an average of 8.1 ± 4.4 ranibizumab injections were included. Patients received between one and three DEX implants during 12.4 ± 7.4 months of follow-up. The mean final CRT significantly decreased from 384.4 ± 114.4 μm at baseline to 323.9 ± 77.7 μm (p = 0.0249). The mean final BCVA was 51.4 ± 21.3 letters, which was not significant compared to baseline (44.9 ± 30.2 letters, p = 0.1149). Mean IOP did not increase significantly. All patients tolerated the treatment well without serious adverse events. Higher baseline CRT and worse BCVA correlated with better therapeutic responses.Conclusion: Switching to DEX implant is feasible and safe for treating patients of DME refractory to intravitreal ranibizumab in real world. Further larger-scale or multicenter studies would be conducted to explore different DEX treatment strategies for DME, such as first-line or early switch therapy, for better BCVA improvement.


Diabetic retinopathy is the most important cause of blindness in developed countries today. The most important cause of visual impairment is complications related to diabetic macular edema (DME) and proliferative retinopathy. Intravitreal anti-VEGF agents are the first treatment option for central involvement in diabetic macular edema (DME). Despite anti-VEGF agents, some cases are refractory (persistent) to multiple anti-VEGF treatments. In this review, unresponsiveness to anti-VEGF treatment, switch, and combination therapy in DME is mentioned.


2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Ali Haider ◽  
Uzma Sattar ◽  
Syeda Rushda Zaidi

Purpose: To evaluate the change in visual acuity in relation to decrease in central macular thickness,after a single dose of intravitreal Bevacizumab injection.Study Design: Quasi experimental study.Place and Duration of Study: Punjab Rangers Teaching Hospital, Lahore, from January 2019 to June 2019.Material and Methods: 70 eyes with diabetic macular edema were included in the study. Patients having high refractive errors (spherical equivalent of > ± 7.5D) and visual acuity worse than +1.2 or better than +0.2 on log MAR were excluded. Central macular edema was measured in μm on OCT and visual acuity was documentedusing Log MAR chart. These values were documented before and at 01 month after injection with intravitrealBevacizumab. Wilcoxon Signed rank test was used to evaluate the difference in VA beforeand after the anti-VEGF injection. Difference in visual acuity and macular edema (central) was observed,analyzed and represented in p value. P value was considered statistically significant if it was less than 0.01%.Results: Mean age of patients was 52.61 ± 1.3. Vision improved from 0.90 ± 0.02 to 0.84 ± 0.02 on log MARchart. The change was statistically significant with p value < 0.001. Central macular thickness reduced from 328 ±14 to 283 ± 10.6 μm on OCT after intravitreal anti-VEGF, with significant p value < 0.001.Conclusion: A 45 μm reduction in central macular thickness was associated with 0.1 Log MAR unit improvementin visual acuity after intravitreal Bevacizumab in diabetic macular edema.


2021 ◽  
pp. 112067212199298
Author(s):  
Argyrios Chronopoulos ◽  
Panagiotis Chronopoulos ◽  
Agharza Ashurov ◽  
Christina Korb ◽  
Norbert Pfeiffer ◽  
...  

Purpose: To report visual and anatomical outcomes of chronic/refractory diabetic macular edema (DME) treated with intravitreal fluocinolone acetonide implant. Setting: Retrospective, one arm, multicentric study. Method: Between 2013 and 2018, 27 consecutive eyes of 25 patients with chronic/refractory DME were treated with a fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant. Best registered visual acuity (BRVA), central retinal thickness (CRT), and Goldmann tonometry intraocular pressure (IOP) were assessed at 12 and 24 months. The need for IOP lowering treatment as well as top-up therapy during the follow-up were also assessed. Results: The duration of DME prior to treatment in our study was 54 ± 24 months. The baseline mean BRVA of 0.7 ± 0.34 logMAR improved to 0.5 ± 0.3 ( p = 0.01) at 12 months and 0.46 ± 0.3 ( p = 0.04) at 24 months. At 12 months, BRVA improved in 14 eyes (52%), stabilized in 5 eyes (20%), and decreased in 3 eyes (11%). At 24 months, BRVA improved further in 6 eyes (24%), stabilized in 3 eyes (12%), and decreased in 6 eyes (24 %). Mean CRT decreased from 497 ± 176 to 349 ± 186 μm at 12 months ( p = 0.0005) and to 267 ± 104 μm at 24 months ( p = 0.001). Only five eyes required additional treatment for DME and only three eyes required treatment for raised IOP. Discussion: Our results show that the visual and the anatomical improvements achieved by a single injection of a fluocinolone acetonide implant were maintained up to 24 months with minimal additional therapy even in eyes with a long and heavy history; however, IOP monitoring remains essential.


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