Intravitreal Bevacizumab Injections for Macular Edema Secondary to Major and Macular Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To compare therapeutic outcome of intravitreal bevacizumab in treating macular edema between major and macular branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). METHODS: This retrospective, observational study included 58 eyes from 58 patients with macular edema secondary to BRVO. All patients were treated with intravitreal bevacizumab injection at baseline, followed by further injections as required with monthly follow-up. Central foveal thickness and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) were evaluated after treatment between major and macular BRVO during 12 months of follow-up. RESULTS: The mean best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in the major BRVO group (39 eyes), expressed as the logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR), decreased from 0.66 ± 0.47 to 0.34 ± 0.28 after 12 months of treatment (p = 0.011). Similarly, in the macular BRVO group (19 eyes), the BCVA decreased from 0.60 ± 0.41 to 0.30 ± 0.22 (p = 0.014). The central foveal thickness decreased in the major BRVO group from 498.5 ± 194.3 µm to 311.3 ± 178.5 µm and in the macular BRVO group from 442.4 ± 155.8 µm to 297.2 ± 145.7 µm (p = 0.004 and 0.002, respectively). However, there was no significant difference between the groups with regard to either BCVA improvement or decrease in central foveal thickness. The mean injection number of macular BRVO (2.6 ± 1.6) was significantly lower than that of major BRVO (3.5 ± 1.4, p = 0.021). CONCLUSIONS: The visual acuity improvement achieved after 12 months of intravitreal bevacizumab injection did not differ significantly between major and macular BRVO. However, significantly fewer injections were required for macular BRVO than major BRVO.