Acoustic analysis of changes in the lens layers after intravitreal dexamethasone implant injection

Objective. The study aimed to perform acoustic analysis of changes in the lens layers after intravitreal dexamethasone implant injection. Material and methods. The study included 40 patients (40 eyes). The follow-up period was 6 months. The patients were divided into two groups: group 1 (control) included 20 patients (20 eyes) with a natural crystalline lens who did not receive intravitreal dexamethasone implant injection; group 2 (study group) included 20 patients (20 eyes) with a natural crystalline lens who received one intravitreal dexamethasone implant injection. All patients underwent ultrasound digital scanning in B-mode and 3D color Doppler mapping modes using VOLUSON E8 Expert and VOLUSON E10 ultrasound diagnostic systems. The examination used SP 10–16 MHz and L8-18i-D linear probes, as well as RSP 5–12 MHz and RSP 6-16-D volume probes. Results. This study showed that a single dexamethasone implant injection does not lead to statistically significant changes in acoustic density of the lens layers compared to the control group. However, longitudinal assessment of patients in the study group after a single dexamethasone implant injection revealed a statistically significant increase in acoustic density in the anterior cortical layers (p0—6=0.013), nucleus (p0—6=0.02), and posterior cortical layers (p0—6=0.00) at 6 months. Conclusion.The use of acoustic analysis as an objective diagnostic method enhances the informational value of the examination, enabling the detection of lens changes at the preclinical stage and providing a more objective assessment of the dynamic alterations occurring in the context of topical high-concentration steroid application.