Retinal and choroidal thickness changes following intravitreal ranibizumab injection for exudative age-related macular degeneration
Ogasawara, M.; Maruko, I.; Sugano, Y.; Ojima, A.; Sekiryu, T.; Iida, T.
Nippon Ganka Gakkai Zasshi 116(7): 643-649
2012
ISSN/ISBN: 0029-0203 PMID: 22844783 Document Number: 659376
To evaluate the retinal and choroidal thickness changes following intravitreal ranibizumab injection (IVR) for exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Twenty-eight eyes of 28 patients (average age 72.2) with newly diagnosed AMD (typical AMD 24 and PCV 4) were retrospectively examined during a 1-year follow-up. All cases first received 3 consecutive monthly injections and thereafter pro re nata (PRN) retreatment. Central retinal thickness and subfoveal choroidal thickness were measured before and 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after initial treatment using optical coherence tomography. The average number of injections was 5.2 times. Mean central retinal thickness significantly decreased from 456 microm at baseline to 337 microm 1 month after IVR and 280 microm 1-year after initial IVR (respectively, p<0.01). Mean subfoveal choroidal thickness was 225 microm (typical AMD was 227 microm at baseline) at baseline, 225 microm 6 months after initial IVR and 220 microm 1-year after initial IVR. There was no significant difference compared to baseline (p = 0.78 and 0.45). Although central retinal thickness of AMD decreased even 1-year after initial IVR, subfoveal choroidal thickness remained at 6 months and 1-year after initial IVR. Subfoveal choroidal thickness of AMD is less affected by IVR in the long term.