Effectiveness and safety of dexamethasone implants for postsurgical macular oedema including Irvine-Gass syndrome: the EPISODIC-2 study

Aim To assess the effectiveness and safety of intravitreal dexamethasone implants for treating post-surgical macular oedema, including Irvine-Gass syndrome refractory to first-line treatments. Methods Descriptive, observational, retrospective, consecutive, uncontrolled, multicentre, national case series. 50 patients were included in the study between March 2011 and June 2013 with a minimum 6 months follow-up. At baseline, each patient received a dexamethasone implant 0.7 mg (Ozurdex). Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central subfield macular thickness (CSMT), and intraocular pressure (IOP) were measured at baseline and then monthly. The main outcome measure was the mean change in BCVA (in ETDRS letters (Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study): L) Results Baseline mean±SD BCVA was 55.7±15.4 L. At month 2, BCVA was 71.8±10.5 L and 61.2% of patients had an increase of more than 15 letters. Baseline mean CSMT was 544±117.2 μm and this decreased to 302 μm at month 2. Anatomic and functional recurrences were both first detected from month 3 and continued throughout follow-up, with values consistently above baseline. The peak in IOP was reached in month 1 with mean IOP of 15.3±4.6 mm Hg. Of the 39/50 patients followed up for 12 months, 49% received a second injection. The anatomic and functional response and safety patterns were similar to that obtained with the first intravitreal injection, demonstrating Ozurdex’s reproducibility. However, more than half of the patients followed-up for at least 1 year presented neither functional nor anatomical recurrence. Conclusions Ozurdex would appear to be an interesting alternative therapy for treating post-surgical macular oedema, including Irvine-Gass syndrome refractory to first-line treatments.