Safety of intravitreal injection of bevacizumab in rabbit eyes

PURPOSE: To evaluate the safety of intravitreal injection of bevacizumab in rabbits using electrophysiological testing and histopathologic analysis. METHODS: New Zealand albino rabbits were injected in one eye with control antibody (n = 2), 0.05 mL of bevacizumab (n = 3), or 0.2 mL of bevacizumab (n = 3). Electroretinograms were obtained 1 week and 4 weeks after injection. Histologic analysis was performed after completion of the electroretinographic studies. RESULTS: No statistical differences were seen in scotopic and photopic a- and b-wave amplitudes between untreated control and bevacizumab-injected eyes. No histopathologic differences were identified between untreated control and bevacizumab-injected eyes. CONCLUSION: Our study did not find evidence of retinal toxicity from a single intravitreal injection of bevacizumab in rabbits.