Treatment of central retinal vein occlusion with triamcinolone acetonide: an optical coherence tomography study

Central retinal vein occlusion is one of the most common retinal vascular disorders. Many patients have decreased visual acuity as a result of macular edema. We report a retrospective review of 8 patients at the University of Wisconsin with macular edema from CRVO who were treated with an intravitreal injection of triamcinolone acetonide. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was used to help assess the effect of this intervention. Mean baseline visual acuity was 20/500. Mean visual acuity at the 3-month follow up was 20/220. The average gain in visual acuity was 3.3 lines (range -1 to +10). Four of 8 patients experienced a visual acuity gain of 2 or more lines at the 3-month follow up. Four of 8 patients were unchanged (within 2 lines of baseline) at the 3-month follow up. No patient had a decrease in visual acuity (2 or more line decrease from baseline). Seven of 8 patients had complete resolution of macular edema on clinical examination at the 3-month follow up. No adverse effects such as cataract, glaucoma, retinal detachment or endophthalmitis were noted. We conclude that intravitreal injection of triamcinolone acetonide may be a safe and effective treatment in some patients with macular edema due to CRVO. Optical coherence tomography demonstrated significant anatomic improvement in the majority of patients with macular edema due to CRVO treated with intravitreal injection of triamcinolone acetonide.