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Intraocular pressure change after injection of intravitreal dexamethasone (Ozurdex) implant in Korean patients
  1. Wungrak Choi,
  2. Sung Eun Park,
  3. Hyun Goo Kang,
  4. Suk Ho Byeon,
  5. Sung Soo Kim,
  6. Hyoung Jun Koh,
  7. Sungchul Lee,
  8. Gong Je Seong,
  9. Chan Yun Kim,
  10. Min Kim
  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Institute of Vision Research, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
  1. Correspondence to Dr Min Kim, Department of Ophthalmology, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Seoul 06273, Republic of Korea; minkim76{at}gmail.com

Abstract

Background/Aims To analyse intraocular pressure (IOP) changes over a period of 1 year after intravitreal dexamethasone (DEX, Ozurdex) implant injection and to compare the results with those of previously published studies that involved non-Asian populations.

Methods A retrospective observational study was conducted. A total of 540 eyes of 503 patients who received DEX implant injection and were diagnosed with macular oedema (ME) due to various retinal diseases were examined. IOP was measured prior to injection and at 1 week, 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months after DEX implant injection. IOP elevation was divided into four categories: postinjection IOP of >35 mm Hg, >30 mm Hg and >25 mm Hg, and an IOP elevation of >10 mm Hg, relative to the baseline measurement.

Results The mean baseline IOP was 13.45±2.95. The mean IOP gradually increased until 2 months postinjection (IOP=16.85±5.96 mm Hg, p<0.001) and then gradually decreased until 12 months postinjection (IOP=13.80±4.04mm Hg, p=0.16). IOP was >25 mm Hg in 57 eyes (10.6%), >30mm Hg in 29 eyes (5.4%) and >35mm Hg in 9 eyes (1.7%); IOP exhibited >10 mm Hg elevation from the baseline IOP in 61 eyes (11.3%). Overall, the incidence rate of IOP elevation after DEX treatment was 12.6% (68 eyes). Among the 68 eyes (12.6%) with elevated IOP, 60 (11.1%) required treatment: 59 (10.9%) required IOP-lowering medication and 1 (0.2%) ultimately required surgical interventions.

Conclusions The incidence of adverse IOP elevation requiring the prolonged use of IOP-lowering medication and surgical intervention after DEX implantation was significantly lower than the incidence reported in previous Western population-based studies. Intravitreal DEX injection may therefore be an effective and relatively safe treatment modality for ME in Asian patients.

  • dexamethasone implant
  • intraocular pressure
  • macular edema

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Footnotes

  • WC and SEP contributed equally.

  • Contributors Conception or design of the work: WC, SEP and MK. Data collection: WC, SEP, HGK, SHB, SSK, HJK, SL and MK. Data analysis and interpretation: WC, GJS and CYK. Drafting the article: WC and MK. Critical revision of the article: WC, GJS, CYK and MK. Final approval of the version to be published: WC, SEP, HGK, SHB, SSK, HJK, SL, GJS, CYK and MK.

  • Funding This study was supported by a faculty research grant from Yonsei University College of Medicine (6-2017-01).

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Patient consent for publication Not required.

  • Ethics approval Approval for this study was obtained from the Gangnam Severance Hospital Institutional Review Board, which provided a waiver of informed consent for the retrospective review of existing patient records (IRB number: 3-2018-0032). The methods adhered to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki and were HIPAA-compliant.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

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