One-year refractive outcomes after intravitreal bevacizumab versus laser photocoagulation for retinopathy of prematurity

Purpose To investigate the effects of laser photocoagulation (LPC) and intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) therapy used in the treatment of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) on the first age refraction values in our center. Methods The preterm infants who received LPC (Group I) and IVB therapy (Group II) for ROP were evaluated, and the refraction results were retrospectively compared. Results The study included 86 eyes of 45 infants with a mean birth week of 26.5 +/- 2.1 weeks and a mean birth weight of 904 +/- 223 g. Treatments were administered up to a mean PMA of 36.0 +/- 2.4 and 35.3 +/- 2.6 weeks in Group I and Group II, respec-tively. In the follow-up examinations, 1-year spheri-cal, cylindrical, and spherical equivalent (SE) values were 0.1 +/- 2.2 D, - 1.2 +/- 0.9 D, and - 0.5 +/- 2.0 D in Group I and 1.3 +/- 1.7 D, - 1.1 +/- 0.8 D, and 0.8 +/- 1.7 D in Group II, respectively (P = 0.018 for spheri-cal; P = 0.772 for cylindrical, and P = 0.009 for SE). The mean spherical power and SE were significantly higher in Group II for zone II disease (p = 0.005 and p = 0.002). In addition, according to the ROP stage, infants with Stage 3 ROP were found to be significantly more myopic than infants in Stage 2 ROP in Group I (p = 0.03). Conclusion In conclusion, this study supports that even 0.625 mg IVB for ROP causes less myopia com-pared to LPC. Consistent with the literature, it was observed that the stage and zone of ROP had a sig-nificant effect on the development of myopia.