VISUAL OUTCOMES IN PATIENTS WITH DIABETIC MACULAR EDEMA TREATED WITH DEXAMETHASONE IMPLANT IN ROUTINE CLINICAL PRACTICE/ISHOD VIDNE OSTRINE U BOLESNIKA S DIJABETICKIM MAKULARNIM EDEMOM LIJECENIM IMPLANTATOM DEKSAMETAZONA U RUTINSKOJ KLINICKOJ PRAKSI

The aim was to evaluate visual outcomes of the real-life usage of dexamethasone (DEX) implants in diabetic macular edema (DME) patients and evaluate the possible additional visual acuity (VA) gain with combined treatment. We retrospectively reviewed medical records of DME patients treated with DEX implants. The mean best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and mean central retinal thickness (CRT) at baseline and one year were compared. BCVA improved from 58.4[+ or -]14.9 letters at baseline to 62.4[+ or -]14.5 letters at one-year evaluation (p=0.002). The mean change in BCVA was 5.2[+ or -]11.1 letters. CRT decreased from 485.7[+ or -]146.3 [micro]m at baseline to 391.5[+ or -]129.0 [micro]m at one year (p