Efficacy of combined photodynamic therapy and sub- Tenon's capsule injection of triamcinolone acetonide for age-related macular degeneration

Purpose : To evaluate the efficacy of combined photodynamic therapy (PDT) and sub-Tenon's capsule injection of triamcinolone acetonide (TA) for the treatment of cho- roidal neovascularization (CNV) in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) at 1-year follow-up. Methods : A total of 117 eyes with subfoveal CNV caused by AMD were included. Sixty-eight eyes were treated with combined PDT and sub-tenon injection of 20 mg TA and compared with a control group of 49 eyes treated with PDT alone. All patients completed 1 year follow-up. The main outcome measures were best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and retreatment frequency. Results : There were no significant differences in age, sex, VA, le- sion type, and greatest linear dimension between the two groups at baseline. BCVA analy- sis showed statistically no significant differences between the two groups. The PDT+TA group required a lower mean number of treatments (1.38 versus 1.67, P=0.032). Conclu- sion : Our study confirms that sub-Tenon's capsule injection of TA with PDT significantly reduces the retreatment frequency of PDT. J. Med. Invest. 56 : 116-119, August, 2009