Intravitreal ziv-aflibercept in diabetic vitreous hemorrhage

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of intravitreal ziv-aflibercept (IVZ) in the management of vitreous hemorrhage (VH) in eyes with previously lasered proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). METHODS: In a prospective multicenter study, previously lasered eyes who had dense VH from PDR underwent intravitreal injection of ziv-aflibercept (IVZ) (1.25 mg aflibercept). Demographic characteristics of the patients, baseline and final logMar visual acuity, number of injections, VH clearance time, and need for vitrectomy were recorded. RESULTS: Twenty-seven eyes of 21 patients were included in the study. Mean age of study patients was 61.3 ± 14.1 years with mean duration of diabetes mellitus of 22.6 ± 7.8 years. Mean logMAR BCVA at baseline was 1.41 ± 1.26 (Snellen equivalent 20/514) and at the last visit 0.55 ± 0.61 (Snellen equivalent 20/70) with a mean gain of 0.86 EDTRS line (paired student t test = 5.1; p ≤ 0.001). Mean number of IVZ 2.4 ± 1.6 (range 1–6). The mean follow-up time was 11.7 ± 11.1 months (range 1–34). Mean time for visual recovery and/or VH clearance was 5.7 ± 3.3 weeks. Eyes, which required multiple injections, the interval period between injections for recurrent VH was 6.4 ± 5.2 months. No subject required vitrectomy. No ocular or systemic adverse effects were noted. CONCLUSIONS: IVZ injections had good short-term safety and efficacy for the therapy of new or recurrent VH in previously lasered eyes with PDR reducing somewhat the need for vitrectomy. Trial registration: NCT02486484