Phacoemulsification with intravitreal bevacizumab injection in diabetic patients with macular edema and cataract

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the results of phacoemulsification with intravitreal bevacizumab injection in patients with diabetic clinically significant macular edema and cataract.

Methods: The records of 31 patients with diabetic clinically significant macular edema and cataract, which would interfere with macular laser photocoagulation, who have undergone phacoemulsification with intravitreal injection of 1.25 mg bevacizumab were retrospectively evaluated. All patients had undergone focal or modified grid laser photocoagulation 1 month after the surgery. All patients were evaluated by spectral optical coherence tomography/optical coherence tomography SLO before and 1 and 3 months after the surgery beyond complete ophthalmologic examination. The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) levels and central macular thickness (CMT) recorded at the first and third months after the surgery were compared with the initial values. Paired samples t test was used for statistical analysis.

Results: The mean initial BCVA was 0.10 +/- 0.04 (range, 0.05-0.2). The mean BCVA at the first and third months after the surgery were 0.47 +/- 0.16 (standard deviation) (range, 0.2-0.5) and 0.51 +/- 0.12 (standard deviation) (range, 0.3-0.6), respectively. The BCVA level recorded at the first and third months after the surgery were significantly higher than the initial BCVA (P = 0.004). The mean initial CMT was 387.5 +/- 109.5 microm. The mean CMT at the first and third months after the surgery were 292.7 +/- 57.2 and 275.5 +/- 40.3. The CMT recorded at the first and third months after the surgery were significantly lower than the initial CMT (P < 0.001, P < 0.001).

Conclusion: Phacoemulsification with intravitreal injection of bevacizumab provides improvement in clinically significant macular edema with a gain in BCVA in patients with diabetes with clinically significant macular edema and cataract.