Effectiveness of Intravitreal Ranibizumab for Diabetic Macular Edema with Serous Retinal Detachment

To evaluate the effectiveness of intravitreal injection of ranibizumab (IVR) in treating diabetic macular edema (DME) with serous retinal detachment (SRD) based on spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) patterns.

One hundred thirty-four eyes of 134 patients with DME who underwent SD-OCT evaluation were included in this study. We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of patients who received IVR for the treatment of DME. Their eyes were classified into three groups according to the following SD-OCT features: SRD, diffuse retinal thickness and cystoid macular edema. The three groups were compared regarding changes in best-corrected visual acuity and central foveal thickness (CFT) after IVR.

The mean age was 61.4 ± 9.2 years (range, 44 to 81 years). The average length of the follow-up period was 9.4 ± 3.4 months (range, 6 to 24 months). The mean CFT value was significantly reduced in all groups (p < 0.001) after treatment. Increases in best-corrected visual acuity were statistically significant for the diffuse retinal thickness and cystoid macular edema groups (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). However, there was no significant improvement after IVR injection in the SRD group (p = 0.252). In the SRD group, patients with ellipsoid zone disruption and external limiting membrane disruption demonstrated poorer visual gains at the last follow-up visit (p < 0.005 and p = 0.002, respectively).

A significant reduction in CFT with required IVR injections in DME with SRD was achieved but was accompanied by a worse functional outcome in the SRD group. The presence of subretinal fluid on SD-OCT in study eyes may be a poor prognostic factor for visual acuity.