Treatment of diffuse diabetic macular oedema using steroid eye drops

• Published in: Acta ophthalmologica (Oxford, England) England), 2012-11, Vol.90 (7), p.628-632
• Main Authors: Nakano Goto, Sakiko, Yamamoto, Teiko, Kirii, Eriko, Abe, Sachi, Yamashita, Hidetoshi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Blood Glucose - metabolism; Case-Control Studies; Clinical trials; diabetic macular oedema; Diabetic Retinopathy - diagnosis; Diabetic Retinopathy - drug therapy; Diabetic Retinopathy - physiopathology; difluprednate ophthalmic emulsion 0.05; Emulsions; Female; Fluprednisolone - analogs & derivatives; Fluprednisolone - therapeutic use; Glucocorticoids - therapeutic use; Glycated Hemoglobin A - metabolism; Humans; Macular Edema - diagnosis; Macular Edema - drug therapy; Macular Edema - physiopathology; Male; Ophthalmic Solutions; Ophthalmology; Retina - drug effects; Retina - pathology; retinal thickness; steroid eye drops; Tomography, Optical Coherence; Treatment Outcome; Visual Acuity - physiology; Vitrectomy
• ISSN: 1755-375X; 1755-3768
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2010.02066.x

. Purpose:  To evaluate the efficacy of treatment of diffuse diabetic macular oedema (DME) with difluprednate ophthalmic emulsion 0.05% (Durezol™) in eyes before vitrectomy. Methods:  This study enrolled patients with diffuse DME for whom more than 3 months had passed since prior treatment. Nineteen eyes in 15 subjects were treated with difluprednate ophthalmic emulsion 0.05% four times daily for the first month and then twice daily for 2 months (treatment group). As a control group, 22 eyes in 11 subjects with DME were selected from subjects who underwent the steroid responder test. Results:  In the treatment group, the mean visual acuity (VA) (±SD) was 0.38 ± 0.25 logMAR and mean retinal thickness was 461.1 ± 109.9 μm at baseline. After 1 month of treatment, the mean VA had improved to 0.29 ± 0.25 (Wilcoxon rank‐sum test, p = 0.30), while mean retinal thickness had decreased to 372.1 ± 70.0 μm (p = 0.006). The rate of effective improvement in retinal thickness was 42% and that of VA was 26%. In the control group, changes in neither VA nor retinal thickness were significant. Conclusions:  Eye drop therapy using difluprednate ophthalmic emulsion 0.05% is a useful and effective treatment modality without surgical intervention or severe side‐effects.