Efficacy of intravitreal Lucentis injection on major and macular branch retinal vein occlusion

BACKGROUND: The objective of our study was to assess the efficacy of intravitreal Lucentis injection on major and macular branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). METHODS: In this retrospective analysis, 43 patients (major BRVO n = 24; macular BRVO, n = 19) were treated with intravitreal injection of Lucentis with a 1 + PRN regimen, which is diagnosed by fluorescein fundus angiography (FFA). “1 + PRN”, namely, one intravitreal injection of Lucentis at the baseline, and then continue or stop according to the condition of the patient. The following observation indexes were measured at baseline and follow-up (1–6 months): best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), foveal thickness (CFT), total retinal volume with macular diameter of 6 mm. During the follow-up, repeated injections were given according to patients’ demand, and the number of injections was recorded. RESULT: The observation indexes of patients with BRVO were significantly improved after 6 months of Lucentis treatment in both major and macular groups, including BCVA, CFT and the retinal volume of the 6 mm-diameter macula. Interestingly, there were significant differences in the therapeutic effect between the two groups, and the macular group had better therapeutic effect than the major group with the less number of repeated injections. CONCLUSIONS: To sum up, intravitreal injection of Lucentis was effective for both major and macular BRVO, and the efficacy in macular subtype group was better than that in major subtype group with the more obviously improvement and the less number of injections.