SUSTAINED-RELEASE LOW-DOSE FLUOCINOLONE ACETONIDE INTRAVITREAL IMPLANT FOR CHRONIC POSTOPERATIVE CYSTOID MACULAR...

To describe two cases of patients diagnosed with chronic postoperative cystoid macular edema associated with noninfectious posterior uveitis who had limited treatment response to previous corticosteroid modalities and then received a single intravitreal fluocinolone 0.18-mg implant. Chronic postoperative cystoid macular edema (CME) may occur after intraocular surgery and is a common cause of postoperative visual loss. Sometimes called Irvine-Gass syndrome or persistent pseudophakic CME, chronic postoperative CME complicates roughly 0.1% to 2.0% of low-risk, small-incision phacoemulsification surgeries. There are a number of conventional approaches to chronic postoperative CME management, including topical corticosteroids with or without nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, intravitreal corticosteroid injections, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitor injections, but these options have several limitations. A major shortcoming of conventional formulations of anti-inflammatory therapies for chronic postoperative CME (i.e., topical drops, intraocular, and periocular injections) is the need for repeated dosing in chronic cases, which is expensive and burdensome to patients.

Series of two case reports. Patient 1, a 75-year-old Latina woman, presented with a history of longstanding, recurrent inflammation after cataract extraction and subsequent vitreoretinal surgeries. Patient 2, an 85-year-old white woman, presented with acute blurred vision, swelling, and pain 5 years after cataract surgery and laser peripheral iridotomy. Both were diagnosed with chronic postoperative CME and ultimately treated with the 3-year sustained-release fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant (FAi) 0.18 mg.

Compared with baseline, both patients experienced resolution of their disease symptoms, >3 lines of visual acuity improvement, and macular edema reduction of 56.2% and 38.4% at 15 and 6 months, respectively, after the fluocinolone implant. No steroid related adverse events including any intraocular pressure measurement >25 mmHg were observed.

A single intravitreal fluocinolone 0.18-mg implant can effectively and safely treat vision loss and increased central macular thickness because of chronic postoperative cystoid macular edema associated with noninfectious posterior uveitis. The FAi 0.18 mg provides a safe, long-acting, low-dose anti-inflammatory treatment in patients with noninfectious posterior-segment inflammation associated with chronic postoperative CME.