PU Conference Series: Euretina 2018

Dorzolamide/Timolol and Intravitreal Bevacizumab May Reduce Thickness in Eyes with Diabetic Macular Edema Decrease in central macular thickness and improvement in best corrected visual acuity was found to be significant.

T he use of topical dorzolamide/timolol as an adjuvant therapy in combination with intravitreal bevacizumab may further reduce central macular thickness in eyes with diabetic macular edema (DME), according to research. The purpose of the prospective, contralateral eye pilot study, led by Mojtaba Abrishami, MD, from the Eye Research Center at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in Iran, was to evaluate the effi- cacy of topical dorzolamide/timolol with intravitreal bevacizumab injection on anatomic and functional outcomes in patients with DME. Dorzolamide/timolol is a combination medication. Dorzolamide is a member of the family of medi- cations known as carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, which reduce eye pressure by decreasing the pro- duction of intraocular fluid. Timolol is a beta-blocker, which reduces blood pressure. Together, these medications are used to reduce pressure inside the eye for people with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. These medications work by

reducing the production of fluid in the eye, thereby lowering the pressure in the eye. Patients at two eye research centers in Iran, the Farabi Eye Hospital at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences and the Khatam Eye Hospital, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, were enrolled in the interventional pilot study. Participants had bilateral DME and were treatment- naïve. All patients received a regimen of topical dorzolamide/timolol twice daily in the right eye and 3 bilateral monthly intravitreal bevacizumab injections 1.25 mg/0.05 mL were planned. The baseline central macular thickness (CMT) measured by spectral domain optical coherence tomography and clinical data, including best corrected visual acuity and intraocular pressure (IOP), were obtained at enrollment and one month after the third injection. In all, 11 patients (7 female) with DME were included. Best corrected visual acuity and CMT improved in both eyes, and IOP decreased in the right eye, but remained unchanged in the left eye. The decrease

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PRACTICEUPDATE CONFERENCE SERIES • EURETINA 2018