Clinical and electrophysiologic outcome in patients with neovascular glaucoma treated with and without bevacizumab.

PURPOSE

To investigate the clinical and electrophysiologic effect of a single intravitreal injection of bevacizumab for neovascular glaucoma (NVG) after ischemic central retinal vein occlusion (iCRVO).

METHODS

Nineteen eyes from 19 patients with NVG secondary to iCRVO were randomly allocated to either an intravitreal bevacizumab injection and panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) (10 eyes) or PRP alone (9 eyes). The primary outcome measure was the change in the total retinal function 6 months after treatment, demonstrated by full-field electroretinography (ERG). Secondary outcomes included visual acuity, intraocular pressure (IOP), glaucoma medication, additional IOP-lowering treatment, and the presence of ocular neovascularization before treatment, and 1 week, 2 months, and 6 months after treatment.

RESULTS

The regression of ocular neovascularization in the bevacizumab/PRP group was confirmed 1 week after injection. Patients in both study groups had very poor visual acuity at baseline. This remained unchanged. There was no significant difference in the mean IOP between the groups at any point in time. The a-wave amplitudes of combined rod-cone response were significantly decreased after 6 months in the bevacizumab/PRP group (p=0.028), compared with the baseline values. The a- and b-wave amplitudes of combined rod-cone response and the b-wave amplitudes of the 30-Hz flicker response were also markedly reduced compared with the PRP group (-60%, -43%, -47% vs +23%, -36%, -16%, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests that intravitreal injection of bevacizumab is valuable in the treatment of NVG by hastening the resolution of neovascularization, while the full-field ERG results indicate that bevacizumab may reduce the photoreceptor function in NVG patients.