A case of intraocular inflammation after intravitreal brolucizumab injection monitored by laser flare-cell photometer

PURPOSE: To report the efficacy of combination therapy using intravitreal injection of brolucizumab (IVbr) and sub-Tenon's injection of triamcinolone acetonide (STTA) and of monitoring with a laser flare-cell photometer (LFP) in a case of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) with intraocular inflammation (IOI). OBSERVATIONS: A 72-year-old Japanese woman with PCV had her treatment switched to IVbr due to being refractory to aflibercept. Two weeks after starting IVbr, her visual acuity (VA) declined to 0.40 from 0.10 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) VA at baseline. In addition, the LFP flare increased to 51.2 photon count/ms (pc/ms) compared with the baseline of 16.1 pc/ms. We diagnosed her with the onset of IOI and immediately started treatment with sub-Tenon's injection of 20 mg triamcinolone acetonide (STTA). Two weeks after receiving STTA, her VA had recovered to 0.15 logMAR, and the LFP flare had decreased to 17.9 pc/ms with dry macula. Eight weeks after the first IVbr treatment, the logMAR VA had improved to −0.18 with achievement of dry macula and stabilization of the LFP flare at 12.2 pc/ms. We administered combined therapy using IVbr and STTA to our patient, and 12 weeks later, the logMAR VA remained at 0.00 with dry macula and 18.1 pc/ms for LFP flare. We continued combination therapy, and after 8 months, her logMAR VA remained at −0.08, and optical coherence tomography showed dry macula, while the LFP flare had stabilized at 16.6 pc/ms. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPORTANCE: Combination therapy of IVbr and STTA stabilized IOI and achieved dry macula. The LFP flare score clearly showed the degree of and changes in inflammation.