Comparison of intravitreal aflibercept and dexamethasone implant in the treatment of macular edema associated with diabetic retinopathy or retinal vein occlusion:a Meta-analysis and systematic review

·AIM:To compare the efficacy and safety of intravitreal aflibercept with dexamethasone implant in the treatment of macular edema(ME)associated with diabetic retinopathy(DR)or retinal vein occlusion(RVO).·METHODS:A comprehensive search of studies comparing dexamethasone and aflibercept in patients with ME was conducted at PubMed,Embase,and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from the beginning of library to April 16,2021.Extracting the data including bestcorrected visual acuity(BCVA),central retinal thickness(CRT),number of injections and serious adverse events(SAEs)from the final qualified articles.RevMan 5.3 software was used for Meta-analysis of the included studies.·RESULTS:Totally 7 studies with 369 eyes were included.The causes of ME in the final screening study included RVO and DR.Compared with the aflibercept treatment group,the BCVA of the dexamethasone implant treatment group showed no significant difference in the follow-up for 3 mo[mean difference(MD):-0.05,95%confidence interval(CI):-0.11,0.02;P=0.17]and 12 mo(MD:-0.01,95%CI:-0.38,0.37;P=0.98),but it was slightly worse than the aflibercept group at 6 mo(MD:0.12.95%CI:0.03,0.21;P=0.008).In terms of CRT reduction,there was no significant difference between the two groups at 3 mo(MD:-28.14,95%CI:-79.95,23.67;P=0.29),6 mo(MD:27.67,95%CI:-84.89,140.24;P=0.63),and 12 mo(MD:-59.00,95%CI:-127.37,9.37;P=0.09).However,dexamethasone implant had fewer injections,but more adverse events such as elevated intraocular pressure(IOP)and cataract.·CONCLUSION:Intravitreal injection of aflibercept and dexamethasone implant can both effectively increase BCVA and reduce CRT.Compared with aflibercept,dexamethasone implant is not inferior in improving vision and reducing CRT in the initial treatment period(3 mo)and long-term treatment period(12 mo).Besides,it has fewer injections and more likely to cause elevated IOP and cataract.

Six-year outcomes in neovascular age-related macular degeneration with ranibizumab

AIM： To evaluate the outcomes of （6y ranibizumab therapy in neovascular age-related macular degeneration （AMD）.METHODS： HELIX was a retrospective, observational effectiveness study using medical records of patients treated in three clinics in Belgium. Patients had neovascular AMD and were initially treated with intravitreal ranibizumab （0.5 mg） between November 1, 2007 and October 31, 2008, had （6y of data available, and were treated on an ongoing, as-needed basis. Outcomes included best-corrected visual acuity （BCVA） and central retinal thickness （CRT）.RESULTS： The sample consisted of 88 eyes from 69 patients. Mean age was 76.4±6.5y, most patients were female （62.3%）. Most eyes （62.5%） were treatment-naive, 33 previously treated eyes had received predominantly other anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agents and verteporfin. Mean baseline BCVA was 57.4±12.7 ETDRS letters and CRT was 291.5±86.1 （m. On average, patients received 20.6±11.9 ranibizumab injections over the （6y. Intervals between injections were on average 12.7±16.1wk. Mean change in BCVA from baseline to last observation for the sample was less than one letter （-0.9±17.3 letters）, with an average loss of -3.2±15.6 letters in previously treated eyes versus a gain of 0.6±18.4 letters in treatment-na？ve eyes. When considering a loss of 〈15 letters over 6y as stabilization of disease, 75.9% of all eyes showed a positive （improvement or stabilization） outcome. Mean change in CRT from baseline to last observation for the sample was -26.9±148.4 （m with the greatest reduction observed in treatment-naive eyes.CONCLUSION： This retrospective study of 69 neovascular AMD patients treated for （6y with ranibizumab demonstrates long-term visual stabilization. In light of the natural evolution of the disease, these data confirm that ranibizumab is effective long-term under real-world conditions of heterogeneity of patients, clinicians, and centers.

Intravitreal dexamethasone implant in naive and previously treated patients with diabetic macular edema:a retrospective study

AIM:To assess the effect of the intravitreal dexamethasone implant(DEX)Ozurdex on the best corrected visual acuity(BCVA)and central retinal thickness(CRT)in patients with diabetic macular edema(DME).METHODS:Totally 43 eyes(24 naive and 19 previously treated)were included in the study.Retrospective and single-center study involved patients with a clinical diagnosed of DME,who received treatment with DEX implant and had a follow-up of at least 12 mo.Primary endpoints included changes in BCVA and CRT.RESULTS:At month 12,mean improvement in BCVA from baseline was 20.4±20.8 letters and 6.8±6.9 letters in naive and previously treated patients,respectively(P=0.0132).The naive patients achieved the BCVA improvement significantly faster(2.4±1.5 mo)than the previously treated ones(3.5±2.4 mo,P=0.0298;MannWhitney test).The proportion of eyes gaining≥15 letters was 54.2%and 21.1%in the non-previously treated and previously treated groups,respectively(P=0.0293).CRT was significantly reduced from 484.0±119.8 and 487.5±159.9μm to 272.0±39.2 and 233.5±65.7μm in the naive and previously treated patients,respectively;P<0.0001 each,respectively.The presence of subretinal fluid was significantly associated with the proportion of patients achieving a BCVA improvement≥5 letters[HR(95%CI),1.23(1.04 to 1.45),P=0.0145];≥10 letters[HR(95%CI),1.75(1.10 to 2.77),P=0.0182];and≥15 letters[HR(95%CI),2.04(1.03 to 4.02),P=0.0407].Naive patients received less DEX implants throughout the study than the previously treated ones(1.8±0.6 vs 2.3±0.6,P=0.0172,respectively).Totally 9 patients(20.9%)have developed ocular hypertension,which was successfully controlled with topical hypotensive drugs.Of the 23 phakic eyes at baseline,5 eyes(21.7%)either had new onset lens opacity or progression of an existing opacity during the study follow-up.Four of them(2 in the naive group and 2 in the previously treated one)required cataract surgery at months 4,6,6,and 6,respectively.CONCLUSION:The results obtained in this study may support the early use of DEX Ozurdex as first line therapy in naive patients.

Various configuration types of the foveal avascular zone with related factors in normal Chinese adults with or without myopia assessed by swept-source OCT angiography

·AIM:To describe the morphological characteristics of foveal avascular zone(FAZ)in normal Chinese adults with or without myopia by swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography(SS-OCTA)and analyze the possible associated factors.·METHODS:Normal Chinese adults with or without myopia aged between 18 and 60 y were recruited into the study.One eye in each individual was randomly selected for scanning using SS-OCTA.FAZ parameters,central retinal thickness(CRT)and central choroidal thickness(CCT)were then analyzed.Correlations between systemic and ocular variables and FAZ parameters were subsequently evaluated.The subgroup analysis based on refractive error was also carried out.·RESULTS:In total,127 eyes out of 127 normal subjects were finally included in the study(mean age29.5±8.22 y,61 males and 66 females).The pattern of FAZ was variable:round configuration in 28 eyes(22%),quadrilateral configuration in 23 eyes(18%),pentagonal configuration in 20 eyes(16%),oval configuration in 15 eyes(12%),triangular configuration in 6 eyes(5%)and irregular configuration in 35 eyes(28%).The mean area of FAZ was0.37±0.12 mm^(2).Females had a larger FAZ(0.41±0.11 mm^(2)vs0.32±0.11 mm^(2))compared with that of males(P<0.01).All myopic individuals showed smaller FAZ area and perimeter compared with that of normal individuals(P<0.01).There was no obvious correlation between age and FAZ.In the univariate regression analysis,both axial length(AL)and refractive error were significantly related to FAZ parameters.However,only CRT showed negative correlation with FAZ in the multivariate regression analysis.·CONCLUSION:The pattern of FAZ configuration in normal Chinese adults with or without myopia is highly variable.Establishing quantitative parameters of FAZ would not only provide details of macular pathophysiology but could possibly contribute as a biomarker in disease staging.

Predicting anatomical results of surgical treatment of idiopathic macular hole

AIM： To determine the parameters most informative in predicting the anatomical results of surgical treatment of idiopathic full-thickness macular hole （IMH）. METHODS： One hundred and sixty-two consecutive patients （170 eyes） after primary operation for IMH were enrolled. Outcomes were classified as anatomical success when both IMH closure and restoration of the outer retinal structure were achieved. ＂Prospective＂ group included 108 patients （115 eyes） followed with optical coherence tomography （OCT） and microperimetry for ly after surgery. Potential prognostic criteria, except microperimetry data, were tested in ＂retrospective＂ group （54 patients, 55 eyes）. Prognostic value of each parameter was determined using receiver operating characteristic （ROC） analysis. Combined predictive power of the best prognostic parameters was tested with the use of linear discriminant analysis. RESULTS： IMH closure was achieved in 106 eyes （92%） in the prospective group and 49 eyes （89%） in the retrospective group. Despite anatomical closure, the outer retinal structure was not restored in two eyes in the first group and in one eye in the second group. Preoperative central subfield retinal thickness demonstrated the best discriminatory capability between eyes with anatomical success and failure： area under the ROC-curve （AUC） 0.938 （95% Ch 0.881-0.995）, sensitivity 64% at fixed specificity 95% （cut-off value 300um） in the prospective group; sensitivity 57% and specificity 90% in the retrospective group. Other continuous parameters except tractional hole index （AUC： 0.796, 95% Ch 0.591- 1.000） had significantly lower AUCs （P〈0.05）. The best combination of the parameters, established by discriminant analysis in the prospective group, could not confirm its predictive value in the retrospective group. CONCLUSION： Preoperative central subfield retinal thickness is a strong and probably the best predictor of anatomical results of IMH surgical treatment.