Clinical Ophthalmology (Dec 2019)
Short-Term Changes in Intraocular Pressure After Intravitreal Injection of Bevacizumab for the Treatment of Retinopathy of Prematurity
Abstract
Shumpei Obata,1 Tomoaki Higashiyama,1 Taku Imamura,1 Masashi Kakinoki,1 Takahide Yanagi,2 Yoshihiro Maruo,2 Masahito Ohji1 1Department of Ophthalmology, Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, Japan; 2Department of Pediatrics, Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, JapanCorrespondence: Shumpei ObataDepartment of Ophthalmology, Shiga University of Medical Science, Seta Tsukinowacho, Otsu, Shiga 520-2192, JapanTel +81-77-548-2276Fax +81-77-548-2279Email [email protected]: To evaluate short-term changes in intraocular pressure after intravitreal injection of bevacizumab for retinopathy of prematurity.Patients and methods: This study was a prospective case-series. Consecutive infants underwent intravitreal injection with bevacizumab for type 1 retinopathy of prematurity at a university hospital. Intraocular pressure was measured with tonometer at baseline, at 1 min, and at 3, 10, 30 and 60 mins after injection.Results: Five patients (four boys) were enrolled in this study. Mean (± standard deviation) intraocular pressure was 8.0 ± 2.4 mmHg (range: 6–11.5 mmHg) just before the intravitreal injection, and the pressures were 19.8 ± 2.8 mmHg (16.4–23.9 mmHg), 14.6 ± 4.4 mmHg (7.6–18.4 mmHg), 11.2 ± 4.2 mmHg (6.4–16.5 mmHg), 9.3 ± 3.5 mmHg (5.8–13.2 mmHg), and 8.2 ± 1.4 mmHg (6.9–10.0 mmHg) at 1 min, 3, 10, 30 and 60 mins after the injection, respectively. Mean intraocular pressure after 1 min was significantly higher than intraocular pressure before injection (p = 0.02). Pressures decreased between 1 min and 3 mins after intravitreal injection, although there was no statistically significant difference between the pressures at those time-points. Intraocular pressures after 3, 10, 30 and 60 mins were not significantly different from the pressure before injection.Conclusion: Intraocular pressure elevation after intravitreal injection of bevacizumab for neonatal infants may be mild, so there may be a limited risk due to intraocular pressure after intraocular injection of bevacizumab for retinopathy of prematurity.Keywords: retinopathy of prematurity, intraocular pressure, bevacizumab