Visual outcomes in Patients with Diabetic Macular Oedema undergoing Cataract Surgery with or without Intravitreal Bevacizumab
Abstract
Aims: To evaluate the efficacy of a single intravitreal bevacizumab injection after cataract surgery for the management of postoperative decrease in vision in patients with diabetic macular oedema.
Methods: In this randomised controlled open-label parallel group study of 60 patients with diabetic macular oedema and lens opacity (grade ≥3), 30 eyes received a single intravitreal bevacizumab injection after cataract surgery, and 30 control eyes did not receive bevacizumab. The primary endpoint was change in best-corrected visual acuity 6 weeks after operation compared with that at baseline using the Snellen visual acuity chart.
Results: Postoperative visual acuity was significantly different between the group receiving bevacizumab and the control group (p<0.005). All patients in the bevacizumab group had postoperative visual acuities above 6/18 with 27 patients having visual acuities of 6/12 or better compared with 6 patients in the control group. None of the patients in the bevacizumab group had visual acuities less than 6/18 compared with 11 patients in the control group.
Conclusion: Intravitreal bevacizumab after cataract surgery appears to be beneficial for preventing postoperative visual loss in eyes with diabetic retinopathy by reducing the risk of macular thickening.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication, with the work twelve (12) months after publication simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
