Journal of Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology
Open Access

Abstract

Optical Coherence Tomography Patterns in Diabetic Macular Edema can Predict the Effectiveness of Intravitreal Bevacizumab Combined with Macular Photocoagulation

Karolina Telbizova-Radovanova, Evdokia Ilieva and Iva Petkova

Purpose: To compare the effectiveness of intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) combined with macular photocoagulation (MPC) for the treatment of patients with different optical coherence tomography (OCT) patterns of diabetic macular edema.
Methods: In this prospective study were included 72 eyes of 58 patients with nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) and nontractional DME with central macular thickness (CMT) over 300 μm. The eyes were categorized into three groups according to OCT features: 22 eyes with diffuse retinal thickening (DRT), 30 eyes with cystoid macular edema (CME), 20 eyes with serous retinal detachment (SRD). All patients received a single dose (1.25mg/0.05ml) of IVB. MPC was applied one month later (25-30 days). Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopahty Study ( ETDRS) best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and СМТ were assessed before and after the treatment (in the 1st, 3rd and 6th month).
Results: At month 6, mean BCVA changed with +8.27 ± 10.7 ETDRS letters (P=0.074), -0.97 ± 8.2 ETDRS letters (P=0.351) and +1.8 ± 10.1 ETDRS letters (P=0.925), respectively, for DRT, CME and SRD groups. Mean CMT decreased by 80.7 ± 65.7 μm (P=0.003) in DRT group, by 24.5 ± 104.6 μm (P=0.909) in CME group and by 51.7 ± 124.3 μm (P=0.580) in SRD group. The DRT group was associated with superior BCVA improvement and greater reduction in CMT as compared with the CME and SRD groups.
Conclusions: Intravitreal injection of bevacizumab combined with MPC is more effective in the DRT pattern than in the CME or SRD patterns of DME. The pattern of DME shown by OCT may predict the effectiveness of combination treatment.