Therapeutic Efficacy of Intravitreal Dexamethasone Implant in Korean Patients with Non-infectious Uveitis

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the therapeutic efficacy and safety of intravitreal dexamethasone implant in non-infectious uveitis (divided into anterior, intermediate, posterior, and panuveitis types). Methods: The medical records of patients who received intravitreal dexamethasone implants between June 2013 and January 2018 at a tertiary referral hospital were analyzed retrospectively. Results: A total of 38 eyes of 36 patients were included. All patients were diagnosed with non-infectious uveitis and received intravitreal dexamethasone implants. The mean age was 55.6 years, and 18 (50.0%) patients were male. In total, 6 (15.8%) eyes were diagnosed with anterior uveitis, 5 (13.2%) with intermediate uveitis, 16 (42.1%) with posterior uveitis, and 11 (28.9%) with panuveitis. Patients with all types of uveitis showed significant improvement in clinical outcomes after intravitreal dexamethasone implant. Three eyes showed increased intraocular pressure, while four showed cataract progression and thus received cataract extraction after injection. Seventeen (44.7%) eyes relapsed an average of 1.18 ± 0.39 times and received additional treatments. Conclusions: Non-infectious uveitis patients showed significant improvement in clinical outcomes after intravitreal dexamethasone implant injection. However, care is required during injection due to the risk of recurrence, as well as side effects such as increased intraocular pressure and cataract progression. J Korean Ophthalmol Soc 2021;62(6):798-805