Treatment of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy by intravitreal injection of bevacizumab

To evaluate the efficacy of intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) in eyes with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).

Seventeen eyes of 16 patients with either subfoveal or juxtafoveal PCV were treated with IVB. As the initial treatment, ten eyes were treated with a single injection of bevacizumab and seven were treated with three monthly injections. Additional IVB injections were performed in 15 eyes when either a recurrent or residual exudative change was seen. Follow-up after initiation of IVB ranged from 12 to 30 months (mean, 20.7 +/- 5.7 months).

The mean foveal thickness before IVB (492 +/- 205 microm) decreased to 384 +/- 181 microm at 3 months (P = 0.0008), and with additional IVB for recurrent exudative changes, the foveal thickness remained significantly reduced at 12 months (392 +/- 203 microm, P = 0.0270). Mean visual acuity at baseline (0.54 +/- 0.38 in logMAR) somewhat improved to 0.45 +/- 0.32 at 3 months (P = 0.156). However, the improvement in visual acuity then subsided, and returned to the pretreatment value at 12 months (0.54 +/- 0.39).

In eyes with PCV, IVB can reduce the exudative change and can maintain visual function for at least 1 year.