Purpose: To investigate the relationship between intraretinal macular hemorrhage and visual acuity outcomes in eyes with central retinal vein occlusion or hemiretinal vein occlusion managed with aflibercept, bevacizumab, or observation.
Design: Retrospective analysis of data from 2 randomized clinical trials.
Methods: A total of 362 participants were randomized in the Study of Comparative Treatments for Retinal Vein Occlusion 2, and 88 participants randomized to observation in the Standard Care vs Corticosteroid in Retinal Vein Occlusion Study. Participants received monthly intravitreal aflibercept or bevacizumab through month 6 or observation through month 8. The main outcome was visual acuity letter score (VALS).
Results: Reduced area of hemorrhage by month 6 was observed in 70.7% (116 of 164) of aflibercept-treated eyes, 63.8% (104 of 163) of bevacizumab-treated eyes, and 42.2% (27 of 64) of observation eyes by month 8 (P < .01). Relative to eyes with hemorrhage during follow-up, aflibercept-treated eyes without hemorrhage at month 6 had a mean VALS improvement of 8.0 (99% confidence interval [CI]: 1.9, 14.2); bevacizumab-treated eyes without hemorrhage at month 6 had a mean VALS improvement of 3.2 (99% CI: -4.6, 11.0); and observation eyes without hemorrhage at month 8 had a mean VALS improvement of 13.5 (99% CI: 0.4, 26.5). At month 6, the presence of hemorrhage and the change in central subfield thickness (CST) were significantly associated with the change in VALS; however, CST was a more important predictor.
Conclusion: Improvement in hemorrhage during follow-up was associated with visual acuity improvements and predicted visual acuity changes beyond what was explained by CST. These findings suggest that intraretinal macular hemorrhage is an important indicator of disease severity in retinal vein occlusion.
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