Curative effect of treatment for diabetic macular edema with triamcinolone acetonide using different methods of injection combined with laser photocoagulation

Objective To determine the curative effect of treatment for diabetic macular edema(DME) with triamcinolone acetonide(TA) combined with laser photocoagulation and to appraise the safety of two different ways to administer triamcinolone acetonide(TA),peribulbar injection and intravitreous injection.Methods Forty-eight patients(50 eyes) with diffuse diabetic macular edema were randomly divided into two groups:twenty-five eyes were treated with an intravitreous injection of triamcinolone acetonide(IVTA)(4 mg/0.1 ml),and another twenty-five were treated with a peribulbar injection of triamcinolone acetonide(IPTA)(40 mg/1 ml).Laser grid photocoagulation was used to evaluate all of the patients after one month.Best corrected visual acuity(BCVA),the change in macular edema and the incidence of complications such as post-treatment transient ocular hypertension,secondary glaucoma,endophthalmitis,etc.,were observed and measured at one month,six months and ten months.The χ2 test was used to compare the improvements in best corrected visual acuity(BCVA),the absorbance of macular edema and the incidence of complications at the 3 different time periods.Results For the different follow-up times,the visual acuity of all patients improved greatly after treatment with triamcinolone acetonide(TA) using either method of injection combined with laser photocoagulation.There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in the change of BCVA and macular edema(P0.05);but the difference in the incidence of complications between the two groups showed a statistically significant difference(P0.05).Conclusion A peribulbar injection of TA combined with laser grid photocoagulation has the same curative effect as IVTA,and they are a safe and effective therapy for diabetic macular edema with few complications.