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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2020 Sep-Oct;83(5):402-409.
doi: 10.5935/0004-2749.20200079.

Immune modulator therapy compared with vitrectomy for management of complicated intermediate uveitis: a prospective, randomized clinical study

Osama Shalaby  1 , Ahmed Saeed  1 , Mohamed Nagy Elmohamady  1
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Immune modulator therapy compared with vitrectomy for management of complicated intermediate uveitis: a prospective, randomized clinical study

Osama Shalaby et al. Arq Bras Oftalmol. 2020 Sep-Oct.

Abstract
in English, Portuguese

Purpose: To compare the benefits and side effects of pars plana vitrectomy with those of systemic immune modulator therapy for patients with complicated intermediate uveitis.

Methods: This prospective clinical trial enrolled patients with recurrent intermediate uveitis who exhibited minimal improvement of visual acuity, despite injections of periocular steroids. Twenty patients were randomized to the pars plana vitrectomy group or oral steroid and cyclosporine-A group (10 eyes of 10 patients per group). Follow-up was performed for 24 months to study changes in visual acuity, binocular indirect ophthalmoscopy score, fluorescein angiography, and optical coherence tomography findings.

Results: Visual acuity (logarithm of the minimal angle of resolution) significantly improved from 0.71 to 0.42 (p=0.001) in the surgical group, whereas it improved from 0.68 to 0.43 (p=0.001) in the immune modulator therapy group. Seven patients (70%) in the surgical group gained ≥2 lines, and six patients (60%) in the immune modulator therapy group gained ≥2 lines (p=0.970). Fluorescein angiography and optical coherence tomography studies showed that six of seven pars plana vitrectomy patients who had cystoid macular edema experienced improvement, whereas two patients with diffuse macular edema did not experience improvement. In the immune modulator therapy group, three of six patients with cystoid macular edema did not experience improvement, whereas two patients with diffuse macular edema experienced improvement.

Conclusions: Pars plana vitrectomy and immune modulator therapy resulted in significant improvement in visual function in patients with persistent inflammation secondary to chronic intermediate uveitis. Despite this success, there remains a need for the determination of optimal indications for the use of each modality. Immune modulator therapy was successful for the treatment of diffuse macular edema associated with chronic intermediate uveitis, whereas pars plana vitrectomy was not.

Objetivo: Comparar os benefícios e efeitos col aterais da vitrectomia via pars plana com os da terapia imunomoduladora sistêmica em pacientes com uveíte intermediária complicada.

Métodos: Estudo clínico prospectivo incluiu pacientes com uveíte intermediária recorrente que apresentaram melhora minima da acuidade visual, apesar das injeções perioculares de esteroides. Vinte pacientes foram randomizados para o grupo de vitrectomia via pars plana ou esteróide oral e ciclosporina A (10 olhos de 10 pacientes por grupo). O acompanhamento foi de 24 meses para estudar alt erações na acuidade visual, o escore da oftalmoscopia binocular indireta, a angiofluoresceinografia e achados na to mográfica de coerência óptica.

Resultados: A acuidade visual (logaritmo do ângulo mínimo de resolução) melhorou significativamente de 0,71 para 0,42 (p=0,001) no grupo cirúrgico, enquanto melhorou de 0,68 para 0,43 (p=0,001) no grupo da terapia imunomoduladora. Sete pacientes (70%) no grupo cirúrgico ganharam ≥2 linhas e seis pacientes (60%) no grupo da terapia imunomoduladora ganharam ≥2 linhas (p=0,970). Os estudos de angiofluoresceinografia e tomografia de coerência óptica mostraram que seis dos sete pacientes da vitrectomia via pars plana que apresentaram edema macular cistóide melhoraram, enquanto dois pacientes com edema macular difuso não apresentaram melhora. No grupo da terapia imunomoduladora, três dos seis pacientes com edema macular cistoide não apresentaram melhora, enquanto dois pacientes com edema macular difuso melhoraram.

Conclusões: A vitrectomia via pars plana e a terapia imunomoduladora resultaram em melhora significative da função visual dos pacientes com inflamação persistente secundária a uveíte intermediária crônica. Apesar desse sucesso, continua sendo necessário determinar as melhores indicações para o uso de cada modalidade. A terapia imunomoduladora foi bem sucedida no tratamento do edema macular difuso associado à uveíte intermediária crônica, enquanto a vitrectomia via pars plana não foi.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest: None of the authors have any potential conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Kaplan-Meier curves of the probability of loss of two lines in visual acuity during the follow-up period.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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