Characteristics of diabetic macular edema patients refractory to anti-VEGF treatments and a dexamethasone implant.

Abstract

PurposeTo determine the characteristics of diabetic macular edema (DME) patients refractory to intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) treatments and an additional dexamethasone implant.MethodsWe classified 119 DME patients according to whether or not they are responsive to 3 consecutive monthly anti-VEGF treatments and/or an additional dexamethasone implant. We compared their concentrations of IL (interleukin)-1β, IL-8, IL-10, IL-17, placental growth factor (PlGF), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the aqueous humor as well as their optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings, and baseline characteristics. We used logistic regression analyses to identify preoperative factors related to refractoriness to treatments.ResultsOf 119 treatment-naïve DME patients, 50 (42.02%) patients showed responsiveness [central subfield thickness (CST) ConclusionsHigher number of HF in the OCT at the initial visit was associated with poor responses to IVBs and an additional dexamethasone implant.