Diabetic macular edema: analysis of corticosteroid treatment results

Purpose: to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of treating diabetic macular edema with the intravitreal dexamethasone implant Ozurdex® (0.7 mg) in real clinical practice. Material and methods. In the Eye Microsurgery Institution, Tambov branch 70 patients (70 eyes) with diabetic macular edema were examined. All patients suffered from diabetes mellitus type 2. The dexamethasone-containing biodegradable implant Ozurdex® 0.7 mg was injected into the vitreous body according to a standard method in a hospital setting, followed by outpatient follow-up in 1, 3 and 6 months with monitoring of intraocular pressure, optical coherence tomography and best-corrected visual acuity monitoring. Results and discussion. After intravitreal administration of Ozurdex® for periods of 1 to 6 months, a statistically significant decrease in the central retinal thickness and an improvement in best-corrected visual acuity were noted in most patients throughout the entire follow-up. The peak of effectiveness was detected at the follow-up of 3 months and remained statistically significant for up to 6 months with a slight decrease in the effect due to a gradual decrease in the concentration of dexamethasone in the vitreous cavity. We noted a direct correlation between a decrease in retinal thickness according to optical coherence tomography data and an increase in best-corrected visual acuity. Conclusion. The use of intravitreal dexamethasone implant in diabetic macular edema leads to a gradual decrease in central retinal thickness and an increase in best-corrected visual acuity with various initial data, both as a first-line and second-line treatment, maintaining its effectiveness for 6 months.