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. 2025 Jan 8:24741264241309685.
doi: 10.1177/24741264241309685. Online ahead of print.

Risk for Ocular Hypertension With Intravitreal Dexamethasone Implants in Black and White Patients With Diabetic Macular Edema

Ella H Leung  1 , Amer F Alsoudi  2 , Henry Chang Skrehot  2 , Daniel Burkhead  3 , Bradley Adcock  3 , India Behl  4 , David Chin Yee  1
Affiliations

Risk for Ocular Hypertension With Intravitreal Dexamethasone Implants in Black and White Patients With Diabetic Macular Edema

Ella H Leung et al. J Vitreoretin Dis. .

Abstract

Purpose: To compare the effects of intravitreal (IVT) 0.7 mg dexamethasone implants on the intraocular pressure (IOP) in Black patients and White patients with diabetic macular edema (DME). Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed of Black patients and White patients with DME who received dexamethasone implants with 12 or more months of follow-up. Results: The study included 145 eyes (69 Black; 76 White) with a mean (±SD) of 3.6 ± 3.9 dexamethasone implants and 58 ± 31 months of follow-up. Black patients had higher baseline rates of glaucoma (23% vs 8%; P = .010) but similar rates of ocular hypertension after receiving IVT dexamethasone (20% vs 16%; P = .52). By the last follow-up visit, the mean central subfield thickness had decreased from 387 ± 129 µm to 314 ± 104 µm (P < .001). Conclusions: IVT dexamethasone implants decreased macular thicknesses in patients with DME; however, there was no difference in the rate of ocular hypertension after IVT dexamethasone between Black patients and White patients.

Keywords: diabetic macular edema; intravitreal dexamethasone implant; ocular hypertension; race.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of the article.

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