Outcome of intravitreal Avastin® injections in patients with macular oedema in Uganda: a cohort study
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Date
2022
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Eye
Abstract
To determine the outcome of Intravitreal Avastin (IVA) injections in patients with Macular Oedema (MO) in Uganda.
METHODS: We prospectively recruited patients presenting with MO at the Department of Ophthalmology of Mbarara University of
Science and Technology in Southern Uganda from November 2018 to April 2019. We treated them with intravitreal injection of
Bevacizumab (Avastin®) and followed them up for three consecutive months after the initial injection. We collected information on
baseline clinical presentation and 3 month outcomes. We performed a Student’s t-test to compare central macular thickness (CMT)
and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at baseline and at 3 months after IVA injections. We performed linear regression to test for
predictors of change in CMT and BCVA at 3 months.
RESULTS: We enroled 32 patients (35 eyes) of which 29 patients (32 eyes) completed the follow up. The mean age was 62.8 ± 11.8
years, and 53% were male. At 3 months after IVA, the mean CMT improved significantly from 426.90 ± 135.9 μm at baseline to
311.20 ± 134.80 μm (p = 0.0008). The mean BCVA improved from 0.70 ± 0.38 at baseline to 0.38 ± 0.36 logMAR units (p = 0.003). The
improvement in CMT and BCVA were more marked in patients who had Diabetic ME compared to other causes. A high baseline
CMT was a strong predictor of improvement in CMT at 3 months after IVA therapy. A worse baseline visual acuity was a predictor of
improvement in vision at 3 months after IVA.
CONCLUSIONS: IVA therapy results in anatomical and visual improvement at 3 months especially in patients with Diabetic MO.
Having a high baseline CMT was a predictor of good CMT outcome at 3 months while a worse vision at baseline was a predictor of
better visual outcome at 3 months.
Description
Keywords
Intravitreal Avastin, Injections, Patients, Macular oedema
Citation
Kabunga, R. R., Onyango, J., Ruvuma, S., & Arunga, S. (2022). Outcome of intravitreal Avastin® injections in patients with macular oedema in Uganda: a cohort study. Eye, 36(Suppl 1), 45-50. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41433-022-02006-5