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¹Ankara Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Göz Hastalıkları A.D., Ankara, Asist. Dr.
²Ankara Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Göz Hastalıkları A.D., Ankara, Prof. Dr. Purpose: To evaluate the functional and anatomical results after intravitreal bevacizumab injection in patients with macular edema secondary to retinal vein occlusion.
Material and Methods: Twenty-three eyes of 22 patients with macular edema secondary to retinal vein occlusion were treated with intravitreal bevacizumab injections (1.25 mg/0.05 ml) and enrolled in the study. These patients were evaluated with logMAR visual acuity, biomicroscopy, intraocular pressure, and optical coherence tomography results before and 1, 3, and 6 months after injection.
Results: Twenty-three eyes of 22 patients with a mean age of 60.2 years (36-83) were enrolled in the study. Of the patients, 12 had central retinal vein occlusion and 11 had branch retinal vein occlusion. The mean logMAR visual acuity was 1.11±0.5 before the injection, and it was 0.87±0.6, 0.86±0.6, and 0.77±0.6 at 1, 3, and 6 months, respectively. There was a statistically significant visual acuity improvement during follow-up (p<0.05, paired t test) in separate groups as well. After treatment, visual acuity improved 2 or more lines in 8 eyes, less than 2 lines in 8 eyes, decreased in 1 eye, and there was no change in 6 eyes. Optical coherence tomography scans revealed that macular edema disappeared in 10 eyes, decreased in 12 eyes, and continued in 1 eye when compared with the baseline examinations. Mean follow-up was 7.32 months and mean number of injections during this period was 1.43 for these patients.
Conclusion: In the short term, macular edema decreased and visual acuity increased after intravitreal injection of bevacizumab. However, long-term studies are needed to determine the permanency of this anatomical and functional recovery. Keywords : Bevacizumab, VEGF, retinal vein occlusion, macular edema, intravitreal