Outcome of intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide in postoperative cystoid macular oedema

To assess the efficacy and safety of intravitreal triamcinolone in the treatment of postoperative cystoid macular oedema (CMO).

A retrospective case series review of 21 eyes (20 patients) that had an intravitreal injection of triamcinolone 4 mg for postoperative CMO. Diagnosis was confirmed by fundus fluorescein angiography and/or optical coherence tomography in all eyes.

Mean age of patients was 71.1 years. CMO had developed following routine phacoemulsification cataract extraction (13 eyes), phacoemulsification cataract extraction complicated by posterior capsule tear and vitreous loss (two eyes), vitrectomy (three eyes), or planned combined phacoemulsification and vitrectomy (three eyes). Mean duration of CMO before triamcinolone injection was 4.9 months. Mean duration of follow-up was 7.4 months. Two eyes required a repeat injection. Mean logarithm of minimum angle of resolution (LogMAR) visual acuity (VA) before treatment was 0.53; at 1 month post injection, this increased significantly to 0.33 (P<0.001). Improvement in VA was maintained throughout follow-up; at 6 months or later, mean LogMAR VA was significantly better than baseline (0.33 vs 0.53, P=0.02). At the latest review, 43% of eyes had improved Snellen VA by two or more lines and 86% by one or more lines compared to baseline. The remaining 14% had reduced Snellen VA compared to baseline. In the post-injection period, 33% of eyes developed an intraocular pressure of 22 mm Hg or higher and all responded well to short-term topical agents. There were no other post-injection complications.

Intravitreal triamcinolone results in a rapid improvement in VA that may be sustained for more than 6 months.