Short-term effects of a single intravitreal bevacizumab injection on retinal vessel calibre

• Published in: Clinical and experimental optometry Vol. 95; no. 1; pp. 94 - 98
• Main Authors: Tatlipinar, Sinan, Dinç, Umut Aslı, Yenerel, N Melda, Görgün, Ebru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Melbourne, Australia Taylor & Francis 01.01.2012; Blackwell Publishing Asia
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Angiogenesis Inhibitors - administration & dosage; anti-VEGF; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized - administration & dosage; Bevacizumab; Diabetic Retinopathy - complications; Diabetic Retinopathy - diagnosis; Diabetic Retinopathy - drug therapy; Female; Fluorescein Angiography; Follow-Up Studies; Fundus Oculi; Humans; intravitreal injection; Intravitreal Injections; Macular Degeneration - diagnosis; Macular Degeneration - drug therapy; Macular Degeneration - physiopathology; Macular Edema - diagnosis; Macular Edema - drug therapy; Macular Edema - etiology; Male; Middle Aged; Prospective Studies; Retinal Neovascularization - complications; Retinal Neovascularization - diagnosis; Retinal Neovascularization - drug therapy; retinal vessel diameter; Retinal Vessels - drug effects; Retinal Vessels - physiopathology; Time Factors; Tomography, Optical Coherence; Treatment Outcome; vascular endothelial growth factor; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; Vasodilation - drug effects; Visual Acuity
• ISSN: 0816-4622; 1444-0938; 1444-0938
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1444-0938.2011.00662.x

Purpose:  The aim was to investigate the short-term effects of a single intravitreal bevacizumab injection on the retinal vessel calibre in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration and in patients with diabetic macular oedema. Methods:  Twelve patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration and eight patients with diabetic macular oedema were included in the study. All patients received an intravitreal injection of 1.25-mg bevacizumab. Red-free fundus photographs (35°) were acquired with a fundus camera at baseline and one day, one week and one month after the intravitreal injection. Measurements of retinal vessel diameter were made of the supero-temporal retinal venule and arteriole using the software available on the IMAGEnet program. Results:  Although there appeared to be a trend towards vasoconstriction for the measurements in the diabetic macular oedema group (both for arterioles and venules at day 7) and the age-related macular degeneration group (for venules at day 1 and for arterioles at day 7), it did not reach statistical significance (p > 0.05). Optical coherence tomography revealed a significant decrease in foveal thickness measurements in both groups at the one month visit compared with baseline. Conclusion:  The results suggest that intravitreal injection of bevacizumab might induce retinal vasoconstriction; however, low numbers of subjects might have prevented the difference from reaching statistical significance. Further studies with a larger number of subjects would reveal the effect of intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment on retinal vessel diameters more clearly.