Intravitreal injection of bevacizumab for myopic choroidal neovascularization: 1-year follow-up

Purpose To evaluate the safety and efficacy of intravitreal bevacizumab in Chinese patients with choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to pathologic myopia. Methods Eight eyes of consecutive patients with myopic CNV without earlier treatment were treated with intravitreal injection of bevacizumab (2.5 mg). All patients underwent a clinical examination, which included visual acuity measurements, fundus photography, fluorescein angiography, and optical coherence tomography. Results Eight eyes of eight patients with ages ranging from 26 to 62 years (mean 41.5 years) were enroled. The follow-up period ranged from 13 to 17 months (mean, 14.9 months). At the 12-month follow-up, vision had improved in all eyes by three or more lines. However, a new-onset CNV adjacent to the earlier lesion and visual loss of one line at the 16th month were observed in one eye. The mean VA had significantly improved from the baseline value 20/82 to 20/25 (P = 0.017). The final mean central retinal thickness was 214.1 +/- 36.3 mu m, with a mean decrease of 59.8 mu m from the pretreatment value (P = 0.017). The mean number of injections was 1.4 (ranging from 1 to 2) within 12 months. No other ocular or systemic side effects were noted. Conclusions In this small series of patients with 1-year follow-up, intravitreal injection of 2.5 mg bevacizumab seems to be effective and safe in patients with myopic CNV. Eye (2009) 23, 2042-2045; doi:10.1038/eye.2008.404; published online 16 January 2009