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Triamcinolone Studied for Vision Loss in Macular Edema

TUESDAY, Sept. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Intravitreal triamcinolone may improve visual acuity in patients with vision loss associated with macular edema due to perfused central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), but doesn't appear to improve visual acuity better than standard care in patients with macular edema secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO), according to research published in the September Archives of Ophthalmology.

In the first study, Michael S. Ip, M.D., of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, and colleagues analyzed data from 271 patients with CRVO who were randomly assigned to observation or to receive 1 or 4 mg of intravitreal triamcinolone. The main outcome measure was gain in visual acuity letter score of at least 15 from baseline to month 12. Treated subjects were more likely to reach the main outcome (odds ratio for each treatment group, 5.0).

In the other study, Ingrid U. Scott, M.D., of Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pa., and colleagues analyzed data from 411 subjects with BRVO who were randomly assigned to receive grid photocoagulation if their eyes were free of dense macular hemorrhage, or 1- or 4-mg injections of triamcinolone. At month 12, the groups had statistically similar outcomes, and the authors write that grid photocoagulation should remain the standard care for such patients.

"Based on the results of the SCORE-CRVO trial, intravitreal triamcinolone in a 1-mg dose and following the retreatment criteria used in this study should be considered for up to one year, and possibly two years, in patients with vision loss associated with macular edema secondary to CRVO who have characteristics similar to the participants studied in this trial," Ip and colleagues conclude.

The research was supported in part by Allergan Inc.

Abstract - Ip
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Abstract - Scott
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