Intravitreal dexamethasone implant concomitant to cataract surgery in retinitis pigmentosa: potential retinal preservation effect

To evaluate the potential maintenance of the ellipsoid zone (EZ) by optical coherence tomography (OCT) of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) patients, treated with intravitreal dexamethasone implant at the same time of cataract surgery. In this retrospective cohort study, sixty-two eyes of patients with RP and cataract were enrolled and sorted in two groups. The first group (“Ozucat" group) included 26 eyes of patients who underwent cataract surgery combined to dexamethasone intravitreal implant (Ozurdex, DEX implant). The second (“cataract alone” group) included 38 eyes who underwent only cataract surgery. We evaluated best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in ETDRS letters and EZ length with retinal structural assessment (OCT). In the Ozucat group, the increase in EZ length from baseline was statistically significant both at 6-months (p