Suprachoroidal injection of triamcinolone acetonide using a custom-made needle to treat diabetic macular oedema post pars plana vitrectomy.

Author: Ameen Marashi (Syrian Arab Republic)

Co-authors: Ashish Sharma, Nilesh Kumar

Purpose

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of suprachoroidal injection of Triamcinolone using a custom-made needle to manage diabetic macular oedema post pars plana vitrectomy.

Setting/Venue

Single-center at Marashi Eye Clinic Aleppo Syria Retrospective case report series

Methods

This was an interventional single-centre retrospective case report series which evaluated the efficacy and safety of injecting 0.1ml/4mg triamcinolone in the suprachoroidal space using a custom-made needle for eight weeks to treat diabetic macular oedema post pars plana vitrectomy (PPV). Follow up changes were evaluated in terms of central macular thickness (CMT) using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at baseline, one week, 4, and 8 weeks along with intraocular pressure (IOP), cataract progression, and ocular safety.

Results

A total of 11 eyes in 10 patients received 11 suprachoroidal injections. The improvement of vision was noted from 0.75 logMAR at baseline to 0.40 logMAR after treatment. Central macular thickness (CMT) reduced significantly from 456.45±113.42 μm at baseline to 247.63±53.40 μm at eight weeks of follow-up. No rise in intraocular pressure rise was noted, or cataract development was observed in the treated phakic eye in eight weeks follow up.

Conlusions

Suprachoroidal injection of Triamcinolone using a custom-made needle to treat DME post PPV shows promising results with acceptable safety outcomes in low resource countries. However, larger clinical trials with longer follow-up are needed to evaluate this treatment modality's safety and efficacy.

Financial Disclosure

None