intravitreal injection of bevacizumab versus triamcinolone acetonide in patients with refractory cme

purpose: to compare intravitreal bevacizumab (ivb) with intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide (ivt) for treatment of refractory uveitic cystoid macular edema (cme). methods: in this randomized clinical trial, 31 eyes with uveitic cme were allocated into 2 groups: the ivb group, received one to three injections of 1.25 mg bevacizumab (15 eyes); the ivt group received one to three injections of 2mg triamcinolone (16 eyes). the primary outcome measure was change in best-corrected visual acuity (bcva) at 36 weeks. results: visual acuity improvement as compared to baseline values was meaningful in the ivb group at 12, 24, and 36 weeks and in the ivt group at 24 and 36 weeks. a significant reduction in central macular thickness (cmt) was observed only in the ivt group at week 36 (74.6±108.0 µm [p=0.049]). intergroup analysis however, disclosed no significant difference in any of the outcome measures. by removing the effect of cataracts, ivt had a better improving effect on va (p=0.007). no significant systemic side effect was observed during the study period. conclusion: ivb was as effective as ivt in refractory uveitic cme regarding va improvement. irrespective of triamcinolone-induced cataract, the effect of ivt may be superior to ivb.