Dexamethasone intravitreal implant: an effective adjunctive treatment for recalcitrant noninfectious uveitis

To describe our experience in treating recalcitrant and severe cases of noninfectious posterior uveitis with the 0.7-mg dexamethasone intravitreal implant as adjunctive anti-inflammatory treatment.

Retrospective study. Twelve patients (8 females; 4 males; 14 affected eyes, 15 implants) with severe recalcitrant uveitis were treated. Patients had an inadequate control of uveitis despite different immunosuppressants and periocular corticosteroid therapy. Primary outcome measures evaluated were: decrease in uveitis activity, improvement in visual acuity, reduction of macular thickness, and occurrence of adverse events.

Uveitis activity decreased in all patients after the implant. The mean follow-up time from injection was 9 months. Best-corrected visual acuity improved from 20/80 to 20/40 at the end of follow-up. The mean retinal thickness improved from 496 to 226 µm. Adverse events encountered were: 3 eyes with intraocular pressure elevation, 1 vitreous hemorrhage and 1 subconjunctival hemorrhage. Three patients reduced the daily systemic corticosteroid dosage after treatment.

The 0.7-mg dexamethasone intravitreal implant appears to be a novel and promising adjunctive treatment for patients with severe posterior noninfectious uveitis recalcitrant to different immunosuppressive agents.