Intravitreal injection of triamcinolone acetonide for diabetic macular edema: principles and practice

Diabetic retinopathy is fast emerging as a leading cause of newly diagnosed legal blindness amongst the working population. Macular edema, as it is commoner, accounts for more vision impairment than neovascular proliferation in diabetic patients. Laser photocoagulation, which is the standard treatment of macular edema, is associated with significant complications and an improvement in visual acuity is unsatisfactory. Intravitreal injection of corticosteroids (especially triamcinolone acetonide) is an emerging treatment modality in the management of diabetic macular edema. This article presents an overview of the principles, technique and complications associated with this procedure.