Purpose To investigate the effect of posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) on aflibercept response in treatment-naïve diabetic macular oedema (DME).

Design A retrospective cohort study.

Methods One hundred and fifty eyes of 150 treatment-naïve patients with DME were enrolled. The patients were divided into three groups according to their PVD status: group 1 (no PVD during injections), group 2 (PVD during injections) and group 3 (PVD already present initially). Three consecutive aflibercept injections at intervals of 1 month were applied to all patients. The efficacy of the aflibercept treatment on DME was assessed by comparing changes in central retinal thickness (CRT) and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) values after three loading dose injections.

Results After three consecutive injections, the mean reduction of CRT in groups 1, 2 and 3 were −199.6±106.9, −224.9±124.1 and −210.7±126.3, respectively. The decrease in CRT was significant in all groups (p<0.001 in all groups, paired-samples t-test); however, mean changes in CRT were similar among groups (all p>0.05, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA)). The mean improvement in BCVA in groups 1, 2 and 3 was 6.6±0.9, 6.5±0.8 and 6.1±0.4 ETDRS letters, respectively. The improvement of BCVA was significant in all groups (p<0.001 in all groups, paired-samples t-test) and mean changes were similar between groups (p>0.05, one-way ANOVA). There was no significant relationship between the presence or development of PVD and the mean decrease of CRT and improvement of BCVA (for CRT r=−0.052, p=0.531 and for BCVA r=−0.078, p=0.342).

Conclusion In the present study, it was observed that the efficacy of aflibercept treatment in patients with DME did not depend on PVD status.