Efficacy of combined intravitreal bevacizumab and triamcinolone for branch retinal vein occlusion

PURPOSE To evaluate the efficacy of combined treatment with intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) and triamcinolone acetate (IVT) for patients with macular edema secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). MATERIALS AND METHODS Retrospective analysis of 20 eyes injected with 1.25 mg IVB and 2 mg IVT for clinically identified BRVO within 8 weeks of onset. All patients lacked concomitant ocular pathology and completed 6 months' follow-up. Clinical examination including LogMAR visual acuity (VA) and central macular thickness (CMT) by spectralis optical coherence tomography (OCT) was performed preoperatively and at 1, 3 and 6 months post-operatively. RESULTS Mean patient age was 61.3 years with a mean BRVO diagnosis time of 3 weeks at presentation. VA improved from logMAR 1.08 preoperatively to Mean logMAR VA of 0.55 ± 0.17 at 1 month (P < 0.001), 0.56 ± 0.21 at 3 months (P < 0.001), and 0.38 ± 0.1 at 6 months (P < 0.001) Mean CMT improved from 482 ± 107 μm preoperatively to 319 ± 53 μm at 1 month (P < 0.001), 344 ± 89 μm at 3 months (P < 0.001), and 241 ± 29 μm at 6 months (P < 0.001). Mean IOP preoperatively was 16.5 mmHg, 21 mmHg at 1 month, and 15 mmHg at 6 months. Six out of 20 patients (30%) were re-injected with IVB and IVT at 3 months. CONCLUSIONS Early combined treatment with IVB and IVT is effective in improving anatomic and functional outcomes in patients with macular edema secondary to BRVO.