Efficacy of combined photodynamic therapy and sub-Tenon's capsule injection of triamcinolone acetonide for age-related macular degeneration

Abstract

To evaluate the efficacy of combined photodynamic therapy (PDT) and sub-Tenon's capsule injection of triamcinolone acetonide (TA) for the treatment of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) at 1-year follow-up. A total of 117 eyes with subfoveal CNV caused by AMD were included. Sixty-eight eyes were treated with combined PDT and sub-tenon injection of 20 mg TA and compared with a control group of 49 eyes treated with PDT alone. All patients completed 1 year follow-up. The main outcome measures were best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and retreatment frequency. There were no significant differences in age, sex, VA, lesion type, and greatest linear dimension between the two groups at baseline. BCVA analysis showed statistically no significant differences between the two groups. The PDT+TA group required a lower mean number of treatments (1.38 versus 1.67, P=0.032). Our study confirms that sub-Tenon's capsule injection of TA with PDT significantly reduces the retreatment frequency of PDT.