Ocular hypertension tendency of intravitreal dexamethasone in retinal vein occlusion

Purposes: To evaluate the ocular hypertension (OHT) risk of first and repeated intravitreal dexamethasone (IVD) injection in retinal vein occlusion induced macular edema (RVO-ME) vs. diabetic macular edema (DME). Methods: A retrospective study involving all the patients who received the first and repeated IVD injection was performed between January 2020 and January 2023. Spearman rank-based correlation analysis between the baseline characteristics and OHT occurrence was performed. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the impact of the risk factors on OHT. Results: A total of 80 eyes (35 right eyes vs. 45 left ones) from 80 patients (43 males vs. 37 females; 58 RVO-ME eyes vs. 22 DME eyes) receiving 120 IVD injections were eligible in this study. The correlation coefficient between RVO-ME and OHT occurrence was 0.290 (P = 0.010). Multivariable regression analysis of risk variables for OHT after the first IVD injection showed that RVO-ME (odds ratio = 9.249, 95 % confidence interval 1.006–85.042, P = 0.049) was an independent risk factor. The Kaplan–Meier plots of the cumulative probability of the 16-week non-OHT survival rate showed a significant difference between the RVO-ME and DME eyes (log-rank test, 1/22 vs. 19/58, P = 0.015). Conclusion: Among all eyes injected with the first IVD, RVO-ME eyes were more likely to experience OHT compared with DME eyes.