Managing bevacizumab-induced intraocular inflammation.

The outcome of four cases of sterile endophthalmitis that developed after intravitreal injections of bevacizumab has been reported here. All four eyes received 1.25 mg/0.05 ml intravitreal bevacizumab from 0.2-ml aliquots for different etiologies. The inflammation predominantly involved the anterior chamber with mild vitreous reaction. All patients were culture negative and regained preinjection visual acuity and were culture negative following intravitreal antibiotic administration. This report highlights that intravitreal bevacizumab can cause sterile endophthalmitis and this has to be kept in mind, and clinical judgment should be used to differentiate it from infective endophthalmitis.

Brilliant blue G-assisted peeling of the internal limiting membrane in macular hole surgery.

Dye-assisted internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling and gas tamponade is the surgery of choice for idiopathic macular holes. Indocyanine green and trypan blue have been extensively used to stain the ILM. However, the retinal toxicity of indocyanine green and non-uniform staining with trypan blue has necessitated development of newer vital dyes. Brilliant blue G has recently been introduced as one such dye with adequate ILM staining and no reported retinal toxicity. We performed a 23-gauge pars plana vitrectomy with brilliant blue G-assisted ILM peeling in six patients with idiopathic macular holes, to assess the staining characteristics and short-term adverse effects of this dye. Adequate staining assisted in the complete removal of ILM and closure of macular holes in all cases. There was no evidence of intraoperative or postoperative dye-related toxicity. Brilliant blue G appears to be safe dye for ILM staining in macular hole surgery.

Residual triamcinolone acetonide at macular hole after vitreous surgery.

Post traumatic macular holes have shown successful anatomic outcomes with vitrectomy with internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling and gas injection. Intraocular use of triamcinolone acetonide (TA) crystals is gaining popularity in patients for visualization of the vitreous cortex, posterior vitreous detachment induction and ILM peeling during macular hole surgery. However, the possibility of residual steroid crystals clogging the hole at the conclusion of surgery exists. In our case, residual TA was observed biomicroscopically in the fovea on the seventh day after surgery, Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) image of the eye showed a hyper reflective mass corresponding to the TA. However, a repeat OCT carried out four weeks after surgery showed recovery of the foveal morphologic features to an almost normal depression, with closure of the hole. Residual TA crystals in the macular hole post vitreous surgery may not interfere with ultimate macular hole closure or visual improvement.

Intravitreal bevacizumab (Avastin) treatment of diffuse diabetic macular edema in an Indian population.

BACKGROUND: To report the anatomic and visual acuity response after intravitreal bevacizumab (Avastin) in patients with diffuse diabetic macular edema. Design: Prospective, interventional case series study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study included 20 eyes of metabolically stable diabetes mellitus with diffuse diabetic macular edema with a mean age of 59 years who were treated with two intravitreal injections of bevacizumab 1.25 mg in 0.05 ml six weeks apart. Main outcome measures were 1) early treatment diabetic retinopathy study visual acuity, 2) central macular thickness by optical coherence tomography imaging. Each was evaluated at baseline and follow-up visits. RESULTS: All the eyes had received some form of laser photocoagulation before (not less than six months ago), but all of these patients had persistent diffuse macular edema with no improvement in visual acuity. All the patients received two injections of bevacizumab at an interval of six weeks per eye. No adverse events were observed, including endophthalmitis, inflammation and increased intraocular pressure or thromboembolic events in any patient. The mean baseline acuity was 20/494 (log Mar=1.338+/-0.455) and the mean acuity at three months following the second intravitreal injection was 20/295 (log Mar=1.094+/-0.254), a difference that was highly significant ( P =0.008). The mean central macular thickness at baseline was 492 microm which decreased to 369 microm ( P =0.001) at the end of six months. CONCLUSIONS: Initial treatment results of patients with diffuse diabetic macular edema not responding to previous photocoagulation did not reveal any short-term safety concerns. Intravitreal bevacizumab resulted in a significant decrease in macular thickness and improvement in visual acuity at three months but the effect was somewhat blunted, though still statistically significant at the end of six months.

Visual acuity and contrast sensitivity outcomes in Indian eyes undergoing photodynamic therapy with intravitreal injection of triamcinolone acetonide in age-related macular degeneration.

PURPOSE: To evaluate photodynamic therapy (PDT) with verteporfin along with intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide (IVTA) in the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective interventional case series included 23 patients (23 eyes) of choroidal neovascularization due to neovascular AMD who were treated with PDT with verteporfin followed by an injection of 4 mg IVTA. The main outcome measures were visual acuity (VA), contrast sensitivity, retreatment frequency with PDT (and triamcinolone) and frequency of side-effects. RESULTS: Twenty-three eyes underwent PDT with verteporfin followed by IVTA one week later. All patients were followed up for one year. Initial VA ranged from 20/32 to 20/800 and final VA ranged from 20/40 to 20/500 at the end of 12 months. VA stabilized (that is loss/gain < 2 lines) in 19 (82%) eyes. Contrast sensitivity also improved in 16/23 eyes (70%). Lesion type and patient's age had no influence on the outcome, but baseline VA had a borderline statistically significant effect (P =0.059). Six eyes (27%) had an increase in intraocular pressure that required therapy. There were no cases of endophthalmitis, but four eyes (18%) developed significant cataract that required surgery during the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: The combination of PDT along with IVTA improves contrast sensitivity and stabilizes vision during one-year follow-up.