Primary intravitreal bevacizumab for the management of pseudophakic cystoid macular edema: pilot study of the Pan-American Collaborative Retina Study Group

PURPOSE: To determine the feasibility, safety, and clinical effect of primary intravitreal bevacizumab (Avastin) in patients with cystoid macular edema (CME) after cataract surgery. SETTING: Five institutions in Venezuela, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Peru, and Brazil. METHODS: Twenty-eight eyes of 25 patients treated with at least 1 intravitreal injection of 1.25 mg or 2.50 mg of Avastin participated in this interventional retrospective multicenter study at 5 institutions from 5 countries. Baseline and follow-up visits included Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) visual acuity testing, optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging, and ophthalmoscopic examination. RESULTS: The mean follow-up was 32 weeks (range 24 to 52 weeks). Twenty eyes (71.4%) had improved best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) (> or =2 ETDRS lines), and no eye had worse visual acuity (> or =2 ETDRS lines). The BCVA remained stable in 8 eyes (28.6%). The mean baseline BCVA was 20/160 (logMAR = 0.92) and the mean final BCVA, 20/63 (logMAR = 0.50); the difference was statistically significant (P<.0001). The mean central macular thickness at baseline (466.3 microm; range 208 to 784 microm) decreased significantly (264.5 microm; range 176 to 513 microm) by the end of follow-up (P<.0001). Eight eyes (28.6%) required a second injection and 4 (14.3%), a third injection. The mean interval between injections was 13 weeks (range 5 to 26 weeks). No ocular or systemic adverse events were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Short-term results suggest that primary intravitreal Avastin is well tolerated in patients with pseudophakic CME. Treated eyes had a significant improvement in BCVA and decrease in macular thickness by OCT.