Intravitreal triamcinolone in recurrence of choroidal neovascularisation

In a previous BJO editorial Mori¹ discussed the limitations of photocoagulation and photodynamic therapy, pointing to the need for pharmacological therapies that prevent the development of choroidal neovascularisation (CNV). In the May issue of the BJO Ranson et al report the findings of a 14 patient uncontrolled consecutive case series in which the inclusion criteria and visual acuity data are compared with the Macular Photocoagulation Study (MPS).² The article is the latest in a series of independent studies to employ intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide (IVTA) in the treatment of exudative retinopathy and represents a further indication for the procedure.

The visual acuity of the study group at 1 year is similar to laser photocoagulated subfoveal recurrences and better than the MPS observation group. The baseline visual acuity of patients receiving IVTA in the Ranson study was, however, marginally worse than the MPS treatment group. The authors are appropriately circumspect about the significance of their study and suggest that IVTA may be an acceptable treatment of subfoveal recurrent neovascularisation while avoiding early persistent …