Intravitreal prednisolone sodium succinate reduces diabetic macular edema without intraocular pressure rise

To evaluate the six-month results of patients treated with intravitreal prednisolone sodium succinate injections for persistent diabetic macular edema.

Retrospective, noncontrolled, clinical case series.

Nineteen eyes had intravitreal injections with prednisolone sodium succinate. Need for retreatment was based on fluorescein angiographic or optical coherence tomography evidence of persisting macular edema.

Mean visual acuity at six weeks, three months, and six months after injection was significantly better than the mean preoperative visual acuity (P = .015, P = .004, and P = .031, respectively). In none of the studied eyes intraocular pressure exceeded 22 mm Hg. No other adverse events, such as endophthalmitis or retinal detachment, occurred.

In this small pilot study, mean visual acuity improvement was statistically significant up to six months postoperatively. Current results suggest that intravitreal injection of the solution of prednisolone sodium succinate may be a safe and good alternative in eyes with macular edema.