Outcomes of Intravitreal bevacizumab in patients with acute branch retinal vein occlusion

Introduction: The study aimed to evaluate the long-term effects of intravitreal bevacizumab on macular edema and visual acuity in patients with Acute branch Retinal Vein Occlusion (BRVO) that had not received any treatment. Methods: 22 patients in first week of BRVO onset that was diagnosed with flurcein angiography were treated with intravitreal injection of 1.25 mg bevacizumab. Macular thickening with OCT and visual acuity measured before injection and 1, 3 and 6 to 16 (12.59±3.487) months after it. Re-injection was performed in 5 patients and three times for 1 patient that have no decrease in macular edema after initial injection. Results: Significantly decrease in mean macular thickening was seen from 479.95 micron (SD=129.590) at baseline to 229.19 micron (SD=22.252) after 6 to 16 month (P=0.001). Mean log MAR visual acuity improved significantly from 1.245 (SD=0.3661) at baseline to 0.173 (SD=0.0631) after 6 to 16 month (P<0.001) at the last time of follow up. Conclusion: We found intravitreal bevacizumab as a first choice treatment-modality to improve macular edema and visual acuity in acute BRVO.