Treatment results of diabetic macular edema with different choroidal thickness with intravitreal anti vascular endothelial growth factor

PURPOSE: To compare the results of intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) with different choroidal thicknesses. METHODS: The files of patients diagnosed with DME and treated with intravitreal anti-VEGF were reviewed retrospectively. The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), choroidal thickness (CT), and macular thickness (MT) measurements were recorded before and after treatment. All patients included in the study were divided into 3 groups according to the initial subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT). Group 1 included 35 patients with SFCT ≤ 220, group 2 included 27 patients with SFCT > 220 ≤ 270, and group 3 included 30 patients with SFCT > 270. The total number of anti-VEGF administered during the follow-up at the last examination, baseline and post-treatment CT, MT, and BCVA measurements were statistically compared in all 3 groups. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 61.9 ± 10.2 in group 1, 58.7 ± 8.7 in group 2, and 57.0 ± 6.5 in group 3. The mean anti-VEGF count in group 1 was significantly lower than group 2 and group 3 (p = 0.004, p = 0.006). In Group 1, BCVA improved significantly after treatment compared to baseline (p = 0.001). In Groups 2 and 3, BCVA did not change significantly after treatment compared to baseline (p = 0.320, p = 0.104). After treatment, central macular thickness decreased significantly in group 1 compared to baseline, while central macular thickness did not show a significant change from baseline in group 2 and group 3 after treatment (p = 0.003, p = 0.059, p = 0.590). CONCLUSION: In our study, we observed that the treatment needs of our DME patients with different choroidal thicknesses were different. In patients with DME, the initial choroidal thickness may help determine the need for follow-up and treatment.