J Korean Ophthalmol Soc.  2019 Aug;60(8):740-747. 10.3341/jkos.2019.60.8.740.

Subfoveal Choroidal Thickness Changes after Intravitreal Bevacizumab in Macular Edema Secondary to Retinal Vein Occlusion

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Ophthalmology, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. jhbae94@hotmail.com
  • 2Department of Biostatistics, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

PURPOSE
To determine changes in subfoveal choroidal thickness (SCT) after intravitreal injection of bevacizumab in eyes with macular edema secondary to retinal vein occlusion (RVO).
METHODS
Forty-four patients treated with intravitreal bevacizumab for unilateral macular edema due to RVO were retrospectively reviewed. Before injection, patients underwent best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) assessment, dilated fundus examination, fluorescein angiography, and enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography. Changes in BCVA, SCT, and central macular thickness (CMT) of the RVO eyes were evaluated and compared with those of the normal contralateral eyes at baseline and at 1, 3, and 6 months after injection.
RESULTS
The mean SCT in RVO eyes (265.41 ± 43.02 µm) was significantly thicker than that in the fellow eyes (244.77 ± 30.35 µm) at baseline (p < 0.001). The mean SCT was significantly reduced at 1, 3, and 6 months after intravitreal bevacizumab injection (all p < 0.001), and the change in SCT was significantly correlated with the change in CMT (r = 0.327, p = 0.030). While there was an improvement in BCVA together with a reduction in SCT (p < 0.001), no significant correlation was found (p = 0.126).
CONCLUSIONS
Subfoveal choroidal thickness in RVO eyes with macular edema was greater than that in the normal fellow eyes, and decreased significantly after intravitreal bevacizumab injection. The SCT reduction was significantly correlated with CMT reduction.

Keyword

Bevacizumab; Central macular thickness; Retinal vein occlusion; Subfoveal choroidal thickness

MeSH Terms

Bevacizumab*
Choroid*
Fluorescein Angiography
Humans
Intravitreal Injections
Macular Edema*
Retinal Vein Occlusion*
Retinal Vein*
Retinaldehyde*
Retrospective Studies
Tomography, Optical Coherence
Visual Acuity
Bevacizumab
Retinaldehyde

Figure

  • Figure 1 Changes and comparisons of the subfoveal choroidal thickness and the central macular thickness between RVO eyes and normal fellow eyes. Vertical lines indicate 1 standard error of the means. RVO = retinal vein occlusion. *p < 0.05 for the difference between the two groups. **p < 0.05 for the change from the baseline.

  • Figure 2 Scatter plot shows correlation between subfoveal choroidal thickness and central macular thickness. At baseline, a significant correlation between the two is shown in eyes with macular edema due to retinal vein occlusion (*r = 0.468, p = 0.049). *Pearson's correlation coefficient.


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