Visual prognosis of branch retinal vein occlusion with macular edema

PURPOSE: To evaluate visual outcome and prognostic factors of branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) combined with macular edema, when no aggressive treatment is performed. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 80 eyes of 80 patients of BRVO associated with macular edema. The average age was 65.7 years and the average follow-up period was 32.1 months. Oral or instillation drug therapy was conducted in 42 eyes and peripheral scatter argon laser photocoagulation for the capillary non-perfusion area was carried out in 61 eyes (photocoagulation for macula was excluded). RESULTS: Baseline visual acuity(BVA) and final visual acuity(FVA) had a positive correlation (r= 0.60, p< 0.001). 69% of eyes with BVA of 0.1 or less remained at FVA 0.1 or worse, while 78% of eyes with BVA of 0.8 or better maintained FVA of 0.8 or better. Visual acuity improved in 26%, remained unchanged in 54%, and deteriorated in 20% during follow-up periods. In the eyes with visual loss the deterioration occurred in the early periode from onset, but in the eyes with visual improvement the visual acuity tended to improve steadily. CONCLUSIONS: Even if macular edema occurs, some of the BRVO eyes can attain good visual acuity. However, we recommend aggressive treatment when the best-corrected acuity is poor or when the visual acuity worsens gradually, because there is a strong possibility that the visual prognosis will be poor.