Dexamethasone Implant for the Treatment of Type 1 Idiopathic Macular Telangiectasia

To report our results of 4 patients about the efficacy and safety of intravitreal dexamethasone implant for type 1 idiopathic macular telangiectasia (IMT).

Four patients' charts with type 1 IMT treated with intravitreal dexamethasone implant were retrospectively reviewed. All patients underwent full ophthalmic examination including best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), spectral domain optical coherence tomography, and fluorescein angiography. BCVA, central macular thickness (CMT), and macular volume (MV) were evaluated.

The median BCVA was logMAR 0.55 (range 0.2-1.3) at baseline, improved to logMAR 0.45 (range 0.2-1) at 2 months after the first injection, and deteriorated to logMAR 0.7 (range 0.2-1) at final visit. The median CMT was 393 μm (range 283-410 μm) and MV was 2.70 mm(3) (range 1.96-2.87 mm(3)) at baseline. Two months after the first injection median CMT decreased to 327 μm (range 269-356 μm) and MV decreased to 2.45 mm(3) (range 1.93-2.57 mm(3)). At final visit median CMT slightly increased to 342 μm (range 258-444 μm) and MV slightly increased to 2.56 mm(3) (range 1.93-2.89 mm(3)). None of the changes were statistically significant.

Considering the effects of dexamethasone on macular edema intravitreal dexamethasone implant can be used in selected cases. Randomized clinical trials with larger sample size are needed for further evaluation.