Early visual acuity results following dexamethasone treatment may mirror long-term outcomes in patients with macular edema secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) and central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), according to a recent study.

The retrospective, multinational study covered a 24-month duration and included 155 eyes with macular edema secondary to CRVO (90 eyes) and BRVO (65 eyes) treated with a dexamethasone implant (DEX implant). Mean best-correct visual acuity (BCVA) for all eyes at baseline was 0.52logMAR and mean central subfield thickness (CST) was 576μm.

At 24 months, researchers reported mean BCVA did not change significantly in CRVO participants (−2.1 ±24.5 letters) or in the BRVO group (1.3±27.0). The study also found that in worse baseline BCVA, a gain of five or more letters at two months was associated with a better final BCVA gain.

“We found that among the eyes with macular edema secondary to venous occlusions, early treatment response at two months after the first DEX implant could be a possible predictor for long-term outcome,” says study co-author Jay Chhablani, MD. “Treatment-naïve patients and those with a baseline CST ≤400µm were less likely to require additional intravitreal therapy after the first DEX implant.”