The Correlation between Predictive Factors and Intravitreal Bevacizumab Therapy Outcomes in Central Retinal Vein Occlusion

Central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) is a common age-related vascular retinal disorder and is a condition in which the main vein of the retina is blocked partially or completely. This leads to macular edema (ME) and can cause blurred vision and loss of visual function. The aim of this study is evaluating the prognostic factors of visual acuity (VA) and macular thickness (MT) changes in response to intravitreal bevacizumab therapy.

In this historical cohort study, 107 patients with CRVO were examined and their hypertension, hyperlipidemia and diabetes mellitus status were recorded. All of the patients were treated with an intravitreal injection of 1.25 mg/0.05 ml bevacizumab. Visual acuity and macular thickness were examined at baseline and at all follow-up visits. Follow-up examinations were performed for three months and then VA and MT changes were analyzed.

After the intervention with bevacizumab, there was significant improvement in MT (0.104±0.13 versus 0.296±0.22) and VA (425.41±64 versus 325.94±51.82) (p<0.001, for both). The improvement of MT in response to bevacizumab therapy in hyperlipidemic patients was significantly less than patients with normal lipid profile (p=0.035). No significant relationship was found between MT reduction and hypertension or diabetes mellitus. Also, no significant relationship was observed between VA improvement and hyperlipidemia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, age and gender.

Bevacizumab therapy was effective to successfully improve VA and MT. Hyperlipidemia has prognostic value in bevacizumab therapy in CRVO patients.