Purpose: To investigate the effect of intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) combined with intravitreal high-dose triamcinolone acetonide (IVTA) for therapy of exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) after unsuccessful IVB monotherapy.
Methods: The prospective study included 29 White patients (31 eyes) who consecutively received IVB (1.5 mg) plus high-dose IVTA (20-25 mg) for exudative AMD, after they had received multiple IVB mono-injections without functional and anatomical success. Two additional IVB injections were given in intervals of 2 months after the combined injection. The main outcome parameters were best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and data measured by optic coherence tomography (OCT).
Results: Mean BCVA (LogMAR) improved from 0.70 + or - 0.37 LogMAR at baseline to 0.59 + or - 0.38 LogMAR at 2 months after first follow-up (P = 0.004) and to 0.63 + or - 0.41 LogMAR (P = 0.04) at 4 months after baseline. It deteriorated to 0.68 + or - 0.41 at the end of the follow-up at 7 months after the combined injection, without a significant (P = 0.53) difference to the baseline visual acuity. The maximum macular thickness decreased significantly from 371 + or - 206 microm at baseline to 322 + or - 90 microm (P = 0.04) at the first follow-up and to 316 + or - 90 microm (P = 0.03) at the second follow-up. It slightly increased toward the end of follow-up (333 + or - 133 microm; P = 0.16). Intraocular pressure increased marginally significantly (P = 0.06) from 14.5 + or - 2.8 mm Hg to 15.7 + or - 3.3 mm Hg at the second follow-up.
Conclusions: Patients with exudative AMD, in whom monotherapy with IVB was unsuccessful, may experience a temporary improvement in vision and reduction in macular thickness after a combined intravitreal injection of bevacizumab and triamcinolone.