Natural History of Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion: An Evidence-Based Systematic Review

Objective To describe the natural history of branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) based on the best available evidence from the literature. Clinical Relevance Branch retinal vein occlusion is the second most frequent major retinal vascular disease. Although several new treatments for BRVO are currently being introduced, data on its natural history are sparse. Methods English language articles were retrieved using a keyword search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, Current Contents, and the Cochrane Library to November 13, 2008, supplemented by manually searching the references of review articles published within the last 5 years. All relevant observational studies evaluating the natural history of BRVO and all clinical trials evaluating BRVO interventions with an untreated control arm were independently identified by 2 investigators. Results Of a total of 5965 citations retrieved, 24 eligible studies were identified and reviewed, providing 1608 eyes with BRVO with data on natural history. Visual acuity (VA) was moderately poor at baseline (