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Oxygen therapy promising for patients with DME
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Straight oxygen delivered nasally may improve vision for patients with diabetic macular edema, according to a small case series.
Peter A. Campochiaro, MD, and colleagues at the Wilmer Eye Institute and the National Eye Institute studied five patients with persistent diabetic macular edema who underwent additional oxygen consumption for 3 months. All patients had received at least one laser eye treatment, with an average of 2.7 treatments per eye. Of the nine eyes studied, all but one had persistent macular edema.
Patients had 4 liters of oxygen per minute delivered via small tubes into their noses over a 3-month period. Excess macular thickness was reduced by an average 43% in all nine eyes at the end of treatment. Macular volume decreased by more than half as well. Three eyes improved their visual acuity by two lines.
The study was published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.