Treatment of Refractory Diffuse Diabetic Macular Edema with Intravitreal Bevacizumab

To analyze the short term visual acuity and anatomic response after a single dose of off-label intravitreal injection of bevacizumab in diffuse diabetic macular edema (DME) not responding to conventionallaser photocoagulation. Patients arid Methods: Prospective analysis of consecutive case series of 45 eyes of 38 patients with refractory diffuse DME who had one intra-vitreal injection of 1.25 mg of bevacizumab (Avastin) and followed up for 3 months. All patients passed at least six months since their last laser treatment before inclusion in the study. Patients underwent best corrected visual acuity determination, intraocular pressure measurement, stereoscopic biomicroscopy of the macula and measurement of the retinal thickness by optical coherence tomography (OCT) at base line and follow up visits. Results: At 1 month post-injection, visual acuity improved by 1 line in 7 eyes, unchanged from the preinjection levels in 24 eyes and deteriorated in 14 eyes. At 3 months post injection, visual acuity improved ...