Effect of Posterior Subtenon Triamcinolone Acetonide Injection on Diabetic Macular Edema Refractory to Intravitreal Bevacizumab Injection

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of posterior subtenon triamcinolone acetonide injection on refractory diabetic macular edema (DME) after intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) injection failure. METHODS: Patients with DME and central subfield thickness (CST) >300 microm who did not respond to IVB injections were retrospectively included. Specifically, we enrolled patients who were diagnosed with refractory DME and who experienced an increase in CST after 1 to 2 IVB injections or no decrease after > or =3 consecutive IVB injections. One clinician injected 20 mg of triamcinolone acetonide into the posterior subtenon space. All patients received ophthalmic examinations at baseline and at 2, 4, and 6 months post-baseline. Examinations included Snellen visual acuity, intraocular pressure, and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. RESULTS: Forty eyes of 34 patients were included. The average baseline CST was 476 microm. The average CST decreased to 368 microm at 2 months, 374 microm at 4 months, and 427 microm at 6 months (p < 0.001 for all results, Wilcoxon signed-rank test). The average intraocular pressure increased from 15.50 to 16.92 mmHg at 2 months but decreased to 16.30 mmHg at 4 months and 15.65 mmHg at 6 months. Logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution visual acuity improved from 0.56 to 0.50 at 2 months (p = 0.023), 0.50 at 4 months (p = 0.083), and 0.48 at 6 months (p = 0.133, Wilcoxon signed-rank test). No complications were detected. CONCLUSIONS: Posterior subtenon triamcinolone acetonide is an effective and safe treatment for reducing CST in DME refractory to IVB.

Posterior Subtenon Triamcinolone Acetonide in Gas-filled Eyes as an Adjunctive Treatment for Complicated Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of adjunctive subtenon injection of triamcinolone acetonide (TA) in gas-filled eyes after vitrectomy for complicated proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). METHODS: This nonrandomized comparative study included 27 patients (27 eyes) who underwent pars plana vitrectomy and gas tamponade for treatment of PDR with tractional or combined tractional-rhegmatogenous retinal detachment and who received subtenon injection of TA (40 mg) at the end of surgery. The study group was compared with the control group (29 eyes), which was matched with the study group for preoperative and intraoperative parameters, but underwent pars plana vitrectomy and gas tamponade without a subtenon injection of TA. RESULTS: Retinal reattachments without reoperation were achieved in 25 eyes (92.6%) and 26 eyes (89.7%) at 6 months (p = 1.000) in the study and control groups, respectively. The study group and the control group did not differ significantly in the frequency of postoperative proliferative vitreoretinopathy, retinal redetachment rate, reoperation rate, macular pucker formation, postoperative vitreous hemorrhage, gain in visual acuity, intraocular pressure, and intraocular inflammation (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The clinical results of pars plana vitrectomy for complicated PDR are not improved significantly by an adjunctive subtenon TA injection in gas-filled eyes.

Posterior Subtenon Triamcinolone Acetonide Injection for Refractory Diabetic Macular Edema in Vitrectomized Eye

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of posterior subtenon injection of triamcinolone acetonide (TA) in patients with refractory diabetic macular edema (DME) after vitrectomy. METHODS: Seventeen vitrectomized eyes in 16 patients with DME underwent a posterior subtenon injection of TA (40 mg/1.0 ml) and were followed-up for more than six months. Visual acuity (VA, logMAR) and central subfield macular thickness (CSMT, microm) according to optical coherent tomography were assessed at baseline and 1, 3, and 6 months after an injection of TA. RESULTS: The patients included four men and 12 women with an average age of 56.9 years. VA improved significantly from 0.70 +/- 0.33 (mean +/- SD) before injection to 0.56 +/- 0.24 one month and 0.54 +/- 0.21 three months after an injection of TA. Visual acuity at six months was 0.61 +/- 0.24 and had no significance (p = 0.17). CSMT decreased significantly from 469 +/- 145 before injection to 323 +/- 58, 343 +/- 100, and 389 +/- 156 one, three, and six months after an injection of TA, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Posterior subtenon injection of TA is effective in the short-term for improving VA and CMT in patients with refractory diabetic macular edema after vitrectomy.

Treatment of Diabetic Macular Edema: A Comparative Study

PURPOSE: To compare the effect and complications of treatments for diabetic macular edema. METHODS: Literature review using the Korean medical database and the Korean Ophthalmological Society database was performed. Studies used consisted of patients with diabetic macular edema, comparing intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide (IVTA) injection with posterior subtenon triamcinolone acetonide (STTA) injection or intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) injection, according to visual acuity (VA) outcomes, central macular thickness (CMT), and intraocular pressure (IOP) at 1, 3, and 6 months. RESULTS: In the three studies comparing IVTA injection with STTA injection, IVTA injection demonstrated greater improvement in VA at 1 month and CMT at 6 months. The patients who received IVTA injection had significantly higher IOP at 3 months. In the three studies comparing IVTA injection with IVB injection, IVTA injection demonstrated greater improvement in VA at 3 months and CMT at 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: The functional and anatomical improvements are achieved by IVTA injection, STTA injection, and IVB injection for diabetic macular edema, and the effect of IVTA injection is more prominent than other injection types with longer duration.

Intravitreal Versus Subtenon Injections of Triamcinolone Acetonide for Diabetic Macular Edema

PURPOSE: To retrospectively evaluate the clinical effect of intravitreal (IVT) and posterior subtenon (PSTT) triamcinolone acetonide (TA) injection in diabetic macular edema. METHODS: Fifty eyes of 43 patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) were included. Twenty-two eyes in the IVT group received 4 mg/0.1 ml intravitreal TA injections and 26 eyes in the PSTT group received 40 mg/1.0 ml subtenon TA injections. LogMAR visual acuity and intraocular pressure (IOP) were measured and, using OCT, central macular thickness (CMT) and total macular volume (TMV) were also measured before and 1, 3, and 6 months postoperatively. RESULTS: Both groups showed significant decreases in the mean CMT and TMV. The mean CMT in the IVT group was significantly thinner than that of the PSTT group 1 month postoperatively. The percentage reduction in CMT and TMV were also greater in the IVT group than the PSTT group 1 month postoperatively. Both groups showed significant improvements in mean visual acuity, with no significant difference between the two groups. However, at 1-month postoperative improvement in visual acuity was significantly greater in the IVT group than the PSTT group. The mean IOP in the IVT group was also greater than that in the PSTT 1 month postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS: Both injections caused a significant increase in visual acuity and a decrease in CMT and TMV. The effect was more pronounced in the IVT group. However, the PSTT injection also appeared to be a safe and effective technique for the treatment of DME.

Intravitreal and Additional Posterior Subtenon Triamcinolone Injection in Diabetic Macular Edema

PURPOSE: To compare the effect of triamcinolone acetonide injection between intravitreal injection alone group and intravitreal injection in combintaion with posterior subtenon injection group in diabetic macular edema. METHODS: Twenty-nine eyes of 29 patients with diabetic macular edema were randomly classified into two groups. Intravitreal injection of triamcinolone acetonide 4 mg was administered to 15 eyes and posterior subtenon injection of triamcinolone acetonide 20 mg in combination with intravitreal injection was administered to 14 eyes. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), macular thickness measured by optical coherence tomography were assessed 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after the procedure. RESULTS: Baseline BCVA and macular thickness showed no differences between two groups. BCVA and macular thickness 1, 3, and 6 months after the procedure revealed significant improvement, but no significant differences between two groups were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Intravitreal injection of triamcinolone acetonide alone and intravitreal inejction in combination with posterior subtenon injection were equally effective, but had no significant differences.

Intravitreal versus Posterior Subtenon Injection of Triamcinolone Acetonide for Diabetic Macular Edema

PURPOSE: To compare the short-term effects of intravitreal versus posterior subtenon injection of triamcinolone acetonide for diabetic macular edema. METHODS: This is a prospective and interventional study. Sixty eyes of 60 patients who had diffuse diabetic macular edema were assigned to receive a single intravitreal injection (4 mg) or a single posterior subtenon injection (40 mg) of triamcinolone acetonide. The central retinal thickness was measured using optical coherent tomography before injection and at 1 and 3 months after injection. Visual acuity and intraocular pressure (IOP) were also measured. RESULTS: Both intravitreal and posterior subtenon injections of triamcinolone acetonide resulted in significant improvements in visual acuity at 1 month and 3 months after injection. Both groups resulted in a significant decrease in central macular thickness (CMT) at 1 month and 3 months post-injection. IOP in the intravitreal injection group was significantly higher than in the posterior subtenon injection group at 3 months after injection. CONCLUSIONS: The posterior subtenon injection of triamcinolone acetonide had a comparable effect to the intravitreal triamcinolone injection and showed a lower risk of elevated IOP. Posterior subtenon injection of triamcinolone acetonide may be a good alternative for the treatment of diffuse diabetic macular edema.