ABSTRACT
Purpose:
To investigate changes in axial length after intravitreal dexamethasone implantation in patients with macular edema.
Methods:
We performed a prospective comparative study of 46 patients with unilateral macular edema, due to diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusion, and non-infectious uveitis, who underwent dexamethasone implantation. The fellow eyes of the patients were considered the control group. The central macular thickness was measured by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography, and axial length was measured by IOLMaster 700 optical coherence biometry. We compared axial length and central macular thickness values within the groups.
Results:
In the study group, the baseline central macular thickness was 460.19 ± 128.64 mm, significantly decreasing to 324.00 ± 79.84 mm after dexamethasone implantation (p=0.000). No significant change in central macular thickness measurements was seen in the control group (p=0.244). In the study group, the baseline axial length was 23.16 ± 0.68 mm, significantly increasing to 23.22 ± 0.65 mm after dexamethasone implantation (p=0.039). However, the control group exhibited no significant change in axial length (p=0.123).
Conclusions:
In addition to significantly reducing central macular thickness measurements, intravitreal dexamethasone implantation also significantly changes optical biometry-based axial length measurements.
Keywords:
Axial length, eye; Dexamethasone/administration & dosage; Intravitreal injections, Drug implants; Macular edema