Short-term safety and efficacy of a single intravitreal bevacizumab injection for the management of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy

Abstract

AIMS: To evaluate the short-term safety and efficacy of a single intravitreal bevacizumab injection in patients with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).

METHODS: The records of patients treated with intravitreal bevacizumab for PCV were retrospectively reviewed. All patients were evaluated by complete ophthalmic examination, optical coherence tomography and fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography. Changes in visual acuity and central retinal thickness (CRT) over 3 months were the main outcome measures.

RESULTS: Nineteen eyes of 18 patients were included. No serious ocular or systemic adverse events were observed. The median baseline visual acuity and CRT were 20/100 and 230 microm, respectively. After 1 month, there was no significant improvement in median visual acuity (20/80(+1); p = 0.055), but median CRT had decreased significantly (160 microm; p < 0.001). After 3 months (data available for 17 eyes), both median visual acuity (20/63(-2); p = 0.001) and CRT (190 microm; p = 0.007) showed significant improvements over baseline values.

CONCLUSIONS: Intravitreal bevacizumab therapy for PCV was well tolerated over the 3-month follow-up period. Short-term results are promising, but further studies are necessary to evaluate long-term efficacy