Different Dosages of Intravitreal Triamcinolone Acetonide Injections for Macular Edema Secondary to Central Retinal Vein Occlusion

Purpose： To study the effect of intravitreal injections of tri- amcinolone acetonide （TA） for the treatment of macular ede- ma secondary to central retinal vein occlusion （CRVO）in a sample of Chinese patients from Shaanxi province. Methods： The 50 eyes from 50 patients were separated into three TA treatment groups： 17 patients were given 4 mg/0.1 ml, 19 patients were given 8 mg/0.2 ml, and 14 patients were given 16 mg/0.4 ml. Patients were followed up for 12 months. Foveal thickness, intraocular pressure （IOP）, and best-cor- rected visual acuity （BCVA） were measured. Results： Macular edema responded well both anatomically and functionally to the TA injections. After the initial intravit- real injection, macular edema recurred at 2-4 months in the low-dose group （4 mg）, at 3-5 months in the medium-dose group （8 mg）, and at 6-9 months in the high-dose group （16 mg）. No significant difference in BCVA or in foveal thickness were observed between the first intravitreal injection and the re-injection. There was no increase in IOP after re-injection of 16 mg TA, if the patient did not have an elevated IOP after the initial intravitreal injection of 4/8 mg TA. Conclusion： A low dosage of TA （4 mg） administered via in- travitreal injection might be useful as an initial treatment for macular edema secondary to CRVO. A higher dosage of TA （16mg） can be used if there is no IOP elevation with the ini- tial TA injection. （Eye Science 2012; 27：152-157）