Efficacy of PreOperative Bevacizumab for Diabetic Eye Disease

PURPOSE: To evaluate the role of preoperative intravitreal bevacizumab as an adjunct to vitrectomy in the management of severe diabetic eye disease.

SETTINGS: Kasr El-Aini Teaching Hospital - Cairo University from 2007 to 2008. METHODS: Twenty eyes of 19 patients with severe proliferative diabetic retinopathy were recruited into the study. All eyes underwent a single intravitreal injection of bevacizumab 1.25 mg in 0.05 ml one week prior to vitrectomy for tractional (14), combined tractional/rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (4), and fibrovascular tissue covering/distorting the macula (2). Exclusion criteria were: previous vitrectomy, neovascular glaucoma, and dense media opacity (dense cataract and vitreous hemorrhage) precluding fluorescein angiography (FA) that was done pre- and 1 week post injections. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), anterior segment with dilated fundus examinations, and intraocular pressures (IOP), were done pre-, 1 week post-injections, 1 day, 1 week and monthly for 3 months post-vitrectomy. Intra- and post-operative bleedings were recorded.