Intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide for patients with macular oedema due to central retinal vein occlusion in Taiwan.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and outcome of intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide as treatment for macular oedema secondary to central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) in Taiwanese.

Methods: The prospective clinical interventional study included 43 patients (43 eyes) with macular oedema due to CRVO. The study group consisted of 22 patients who had accepted an intravitreal injection of 4 mg of triamcinolone acetonide. The control group included 21 patients without intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide. Examination included assessment of best-corrected visual acuity, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, measurement of intraocular pressure, ophthalmoscopy, and optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Results: The mean follow-up was 283.00+/-70.62 days in the study group and 354.05+/-173.18 days in the control group, respectively. In the study group, visual acuity measurements improved significantly (P=0.007) from 1.00+/-0.45 logMAR preoperatively to a best postoperative visual acuity of 0.67+/-0.65 logMAR. Seventeen eyes (77.3%) gained improvement in visual acuity with 12 eyes (54.5%) showing an increase in visual acuity of at least two Snellen lines. All 22 patients showed significant macular oedema resolution in OCT examination (P<0.001) from 594.36+/-177.78 mum preoperatively to a mean retinal thickness of 317.23+/-196.83 mum postoperatively postintravitreal injection. In the control group, baseline best-corrected visual acuity and best-corrected visual acuity during the follow-up did not vary significantly (P=0.457).

Conclusions: Intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide can lead to a significant improvement in visual acuity and a resolution of macular oedema in patients with CRVO.