DEX implant predicts fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant outcome in diabetic macular edema patients: Study

Italy: A recent study reported that a positive response to the dexamethasone (DEX) implant may be predictive of positive responses to the fluocinolone acetonide (FAc) implant for diabetic macular edema (DME). The study was published in the Nature journal Eye on 21 January 2021. 

Maria Vittoria Cicinelli, School of Medicine, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy, and colleagues conducted the Retrospective cohort study with an objective to determine if the visual and anatomic response to the first DEX implant predicts the 2-month clinical outcome after shifting to FAc implant in DME patients. 

The study included pseudophakic patients with previously treated DME who underwent one or more DEX injections before FAc. Functional and morphologic response to DEX were defined based on the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central macular thickness (CMT) changes after the first DEX, respectively. 

Steroid-response was defined as intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation ≥5 mmHg or IOP > 21 mmHg after any previous DEX exposure. The researchers performed pairwise comparisons for BCVA, CMT, and IOP after FAc with linear mixed models and a repeated-measure design. Forty-four eyes of 33 patients were included in the study.