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4CPS-052 Intravitreal dexamethasone implant for the treatment of diabetic macular oedema and macular oedema secondary to retinal vein occlusion: effectiveness evaluation

ejhpharm · 2026-03-18 · canonical JSON source

16 visible annotations · policy: published · automated confidence ≥ 75.00%

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Background and Importance Intravitreal dexamethasone implants are used in hospital settings to treat diabetic macular oedema (DME) and macular oedema secondary to retinal vein occlusion (RVO).The implant provides sustained corticosteroid release, reducing inflammation and improving visual acuity.Untreated DME and RVO may lead to severe vision impairment.Aim and Objectives To analyse drug utilisation and to evaluate clinical effectiveness of intravitreal dexamethasone implants in our Hospital from 2023 to 2024.Material and Methods Patients’ data were obtained from healthcare information systems: we created a database including eye identification, age, gender, diagnosis and date of administration.We excluded patients managed outside the hospital or with overlapping diagnoses.For hospital-managed patients with multiple dexamethasone administrations, the final visual acuity was compared to baseline.The visual acuity was measured using the Best-Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA) scale.We recorded the therapeutic switches during the study period.Data were stratified by diagnosis.Results We analysed 59 eyes: 40 with DME (mean age 72 years, 50% female) and 19 with RVO (mean age 74 years, 70% male).In the DME group, 16 eyes received dexamethasone monotherapy, 23 received combination therapy with anti-VEGF agents (aflibercept, bevacizumab or faricimab) and one eye received three treatments.The average number of administrations over 2 years was 4.8 (range 2-10).Mean visual acuity change was +0.08 (p>0.05), 75% of eyes showed improvement.Monotherapy eyes improved by +0.27 with 1.6 administrations per year, while multiple-treatment eyes showed a -0.05 change with three administrations per year.In the RVO group, most eyes received combination treatment: three eyes received monotherapy, 13 eyes (68%) received combination therapy with antiproliferative drugs and three eyes received three treatments, with an average of seven administrations (range 2-16) and a mean visual acuity change of -0.03.Conclusion and Relevance The intravitreal dexamethasone implant demonstrates effectiveness in stabilising or modestly improving visual acuity, particularly in DME patients, with a low number of treatments required.Although variability limits statistical significance, even small gains or stabilisation can meaningfully improve patients’ quality of life by slowing disease progression and preserving vision.Conflict of Interest No conflict of interest