Intravitreal bevacizumab to treat subfoveal choroidal neovascularisation in highly myopic eyes: 1-year outcome.

AIMS: The aim of the study was to examine the changes in visual acuity, fluorescein angiography (FA) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) macular thickness of subfoveal, and juxtafoveal choroidal neovascularisation (CNV) in highly myopic eyes treated by intravitreal bevacizumab.

METHODS: The study was a prospective, non-randomised, multicentre, interventional case series. Twenty-nine highly myopic eyes from 28 patients with subfoveal and juxtafoveal CNV were treated by three monthly intravitreal injections of 1.25 mg bevacizumab. Patients were evaluated for best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and OCT at baseline and then monthly for 1 year. FA was performed at baseline, after 3 months, and whenever CNV activity was suspected.

RESULTS: The average age was 50 (SD 15, range 29-82) years. The mean LogMAR BCVA at baseline was 0.55 (SD 0.25, range 0.2-1.0) and 0.38 (SD 0.32, range 0.0-1.2) at 1 year. Sixteen eyes were naïve for treatment and 13 eyes had been previously treated by photodynamic therapy (average 2.5 sessions). Leakage from CNV had ceased in all eyes at month 3. OCT central foveal thickness decreased significantly from 282 (SD 68) mum at baseline to 224 (SD 46) mum at month 12 (p = 0.008, Student t test for paired data). Six eyes needed one re-injection during follow-up at month 4 (one eye), month 6 (four eyes) and month 12 (one eye). Neither ocular nor systemic adverse reactions appeared during follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS: The results of this case series suggest that intravitreal bevacizumab seems to be an effective therapeutic procedure to treat subfoveal and juxtafoveal CNV in highly myopic eyes at 1-year follow-up. Further studies are required to verify the efficacy and usefulness of this therapy compared with established treatments for this condition.