Article Text
Abstract
Aims: To evaluate the effect of intravitreal injections of bevacizumab in the treatment of peripapillary choroidal neovascular membranes.
Methods: Interventional case series of patients with active peripapillary choroidal neovascular membranes. Ophthalmological examination included best-corrected visual acuity, fundus biomicroscopy, fluorescein angiography and optical coherence tomography (OCT). Bevacizumab injections (1.25 mg) were repeated monthly for the first 3 months. Re-treatment was considered if there were any signs of membrane activity.
Results: Six eyes of five patients with peripapillary choroidal membranes were included in the study with a mean follow-up of 13 months (range 6 to 16). Bevacizumab was used as the initial treatment in four eyes and to manage recurrences after surgery in the other two. In five eyes, three injections of bevacizumab led to a complete resolution of leakage on fluorescein angiography and OCT. In one eye, membrane activity persisted despite six injections of bevacizumab. Visual acuity improved in five eyes with a mean improvement of four lines (range: 2–10 lines). It deteriorated only in the eye that did not respond to treatment.
Conclusions: The results of this case series suggest that the intravitreal injection of bevacizumab may be an effective treatment for peripapillary choroidal membranes.
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Footnotes
Competing interests: None.
Ethics approval: The study was approved by the ethics committee of the ”Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal,„ Madrid, Spain.
Patient consent: Obtained.