Combination therapy of intravitreal bevacizumab with single simultaneous posterior subtenon triamcinolone acetonide for macular edema due to branch retinal vein occlusion.

Abstract

PurposeTo evaluate efficacy and safety of combination therapy of intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) with single simultaneous posterior subtenon triamcinolone acetonide (STA) for treatment of macular edema (ME) secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO).MethodsThis was a prospective, randomized, interventional comparative study conducted in 45 eyes with ME secondary to BRVO who were treated primarily with IVB 1.25 mg (23 eyes, IVB group) or combination therapy of IVB 1.25 mg with a single simultaneous STA 40 mg (18 eyes, IVB/STA group). Reinjections were performed with IVB if optical coherence tomography (OCT) showed recurrent ME associated with decreased visual acuity. The main outcome measurement was the number of additional IVB injections, and changes of best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central macular thickness (CMT) during a 6-month follow-up period were compared.ResultsBCVA showed significant improvement in two groups at 6 months. In addition, CMT showed significant decrease in two groups at 6 months. No significant differences in the change of BCVA and CMT at 6 months after injection (P=0.973, P=0.639) were observed between the two groups. A statistically significant difference was found regarding the number of additional IVB injections (IVB group 0.96±0.83; IVB/STA group 0.44±0.70, P=0.034).ConclusionAlthough combination therapy of IVB with a single simultaneous STA for treatment of ME secondary to BRVO did not affect the visual outcomes compared with IVB monotherapy, it had a benefit of reducing the number of additional IVB injections.