Background: Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (Anti-VEGF) therapy serves to decrease central retinal thickness in eyes affected with diabetic macular edema (DME). The Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer (RNFL) forms the basis of the optic nerve.
Objectives: Our study is concerned with studying the effects of Anti-VEGF injections in patients with DME on RNFL thickness.
Patients and methods: This was a prospective cohort interventional study conducted at South Valley University Hospital, Ophthalmology department outpatient clinic. It included 50 diabetic patients with diabetic macular edema whose RNFL thickness was measured before the anti-VEGF injections and again after the completion of the three injections treatment course using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT).
Results: This study included 50 eyes from 50 patients. 35 (70%) of them were females and 15 (30%) of them were males. 26 patients (52%) had their right eye injected, and 24 patient (48%) had their left eye injected. The superior quadrant of the RNFL showed a mean increase of 1.2 microns (SD = 38.4, 95% Confidence Interval CI = -9.7:12.1, p value = 0.829). The inferior quadrant showed a mean increase of 7.5 microns (SD = 35.6, 95% CI = -2.6:17.6, p value = 0.144). The nasal quadrant showed a mean increase of 8.3 microns (SD = 23, 95% CI = 1.8:14.9, p value = 0.014). The temporal quadrant showed a mean increase of 4.1 microns (SD = 33.2, 95% CI = -5.3:13.6, p value = 0.386).
Conclusion: There is no statistically significant correlation between intra-vitreal injections of anti-VEGF and the RNFL thickness.