Central Retinal Vein Occlusion: A Review of Current Evidence-based Treatment Options

A central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) can induce an ischemic and hypoxic state with resulting sequelae of macular edema and neovascularization. Many treatment options have been studied. Our review aims to investigate the safety and efficacy of the multiple treatment options of CRVO. A PubMed and Cochrane literature search was performed. Well-controlled randomized clinical trials that demonstrated strong level 1 evidence-based on the rating scale developed by the British Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine were included. Seven clinical trials met inclusion criteria to be included in this review. These included studies that investigated the safety and efficacy of retinal photocoagulation (1 study), intravitreal steroid treatment (2 studies), and antivascular endothelial growth factor treatment (4 studies) for the treatment of CRVO. In addition, studies evaluating surgical treatment options for CRVO were also included. Many treatment modalities have been demonstrated to be safe and efficacious in the treatment of CRVO. These treatment options offer therapeutic benefits for patients and clinically superior visual acuity and perhaps the quality of life after suffering from a CRVO.