Intravitreal dexamethasone implant for noninfectious uveitis in Chinese patients

Abstract

To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the dexamethasone intravitreal implant (DEX-I) in Non-Infectious Uveitis (NIU) in Chinese patients. Ninety-one eyes of 77 patients (56 men, 21 women) receiving 130 implant injections for NIU were included. Treatment indication, uveitis diagnosis, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central retinal thickness (CRT), vitreous haze score, intraocular pressure, phakic status, number of injections, time to reinjection, and systemic treatments were collected at baseline, 1week, 1month, 3 and 6months after treatment. All patients were followed for at least 12weeks and had a mean follow-up period of 5.1months (range, 3-14months) after the first implant. The main treatment indications were macular edema (ME), retinal vasculitis, retinal vasculitis with ME. Sixty-one eyes (67.03%) received only one injection, while 31 eyes (32.97%) received two or more. In eyes that received 2 injections, the mean time to the second injection was 3.83months and in those that received 3 injections, the mean time to the third injection was 7.5months. BCVA and CRT significantly improved at 1week, 1month, 3months, and 6months after treatment. When compared to baseline, the mean prednisone (or equivalent) dosage significantly decreased at 3- and 6-month follow-up evaluations after DEX implantation.14.29% of eyes developed a transient increase in intraocular pressure, and a cataract was removed from 1 phakic eye. DEX implants, either alone or in combination with common adjunctive NIU treatments, is safe and effective in the treatment of NIU in Chinese patients.