Can Vitreous Reflux Affect The Short-Term Treatment Response After Intravitreal Ranibizumab Injection?

Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of vitreous reflux (VR) on the short-term effect of intravitreal ranibizumab injection. Materials and Methods The study included 181 eyes of 81 age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and 100 diabetic macular edema (DME) patients. Treatment response was evaluated by measuring central macular thickness (CMT) as well as 1 mm and 3 mm central macular thicknesses (MT1 and MT3). Patients were grouped as; Group 1: no VR, Group 2: <3 mm VR, and Group 3: >3 mm VR according to conjunctival bleb diameters. The data were analyzed using variance, correlation and regression analyses. Results In AMD patients, reduction of CMT values following the treatment were 88.3 +/- 110.6 mu m in Group 1, 85.6 +/- 158.7 mu m in Group 2, and 93.1 +/- 92.2 mu m in Group 3. Likewise, in DME patients, it was 82.4 +/- 88.4 mu m, 72.9 +/- 109.9 mu m, and 73.7 +/- 113.7 mu m, respectively. Reduction of MT1 values after the treatment were 47.4 +/- 72.6 mu m, 36.0 +/- 131.9 mu m, and 36.7 +/- 114.4 mu m in AMD patients, and 33.3 +/- 72.5 mu m, 36.6 +/- 90.2 mu m, and 46.9 +/- 83.4 mu m in DME patients. In all comparisons among groups of VR, macular thickness (MT) change did not exhibit significant difference following an intravitreal ranibizumab treatment (p> .05). Conclusion We found that the increase in VR amount did not adversely affect the decrease in MT after intravitreal ranibizumab treatment in AMD and DME patients.