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Diabetic Retinopathy Highlights from Retina/Vitreous Free Papers
Safety of an Intravitreal Injection of Bevacizumab (Avastin): Results of a Multicenter Trial
| Sunday, November 12, 2006 |
| Lihteh Wu, MD, Maria Ana Martinez-Castellanos, MD, Hugo Quiroz-Mercado, MD, J Fernando Areval, MD, Michel Eid Farah, MD, Maria H Berrocal, MD, Francisco J Rodrigues, MD, Jose A Roca, MD, Mauricio Maia, MD, Teodoro J Evans MD, Juan G Sanchez, MD, Pan-American Collaborative Retina Study Group, PACORES
Neither pegaptanib nor ranibizumab are readily available in Latin America, but bevacizumab is readily available. An open-label, uncontrolled, multicenter, interventional case series of 1517 eyes of 1475 patients with a variety of retinal disorders was conducted. The patients received 1903 injections of either 1.25 mg or 2.5 mg bevacizumab, and were followed up after an average of 4 months. Adverse events noted in this population included 32 subconjunctival hemorrhages, 4 cases of culture-positive endophthalmitis, 3 eyes with tractional retinal detachments, 1 cerebrovascular accident, and 1 hypertensive episode in which systemic blood pressure reached 240/100 mm Hg 1 hour postinjection. There were no myocardial infarctions and no deaths. The endophthalmitis rate was 0.22% per injection, which was within the expected range. Intravitreal injection of either 1.25 mg or 2.5 mg bevacizumab appears to be safe and well tolerated over 4 months, although Dr Wu noted that the short follow-up was a significant limitation of this study.
Dr Avery asked how this data differed from the registry data. Dr Haller wondered why this study had a 20-fold lower complication rate than other studies. Dr Wu replied that the patient population for this study was younger overall than many other studies. |
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