Ranibizumab versus dexamethasone implant for central retinal vein occlusion: the RANIDEX study

Purpose To compare intravitreal ranibizumab and dexamethasone implant in patients with macular edema (ME) secondary to central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO). Methods Participants were 42 treatment naive patients with ME due to CRVO, who received either intravitreal 0.5 mg ranibizumab ( n = 25) or intravitreal 0.7 mg dexamethasone implant ( n = 17). The main outcomes included the mean change in best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central subfield thickness (CST) at month 12 compared to baseline in the two groups. Results At month 12, there was no statistically significant difference in BCVA and CST change between the two groups. However, there was recurrence in ME at month 5 in the dexamethasone group. Conclusions Both ranibizumab and dexamethasone implant were found to be safe and effective at the 12-month follow-up in patients with ME secondary to CRVO. Since there was a recurrence in ME at month 5 in the dexamethasone group, we suggested that intravitreal injection of dexamethasone implant should be potentially administered sooner than 6 months.