Triamcinolone reduces foveal thickness, improves visual acuity, study finds

A single 4-mg injection of intravitreal triamcinolone may reduce the foveal thickness in patients with diabetic macular edema and may help improve visual acuity, according to a study. The authors noted, however, there does not seem to be a “strong correlation” between the reduction of foveal thickness and the improvement in visual acuity.

Jörgen Larsson, MD, PhD, and colleagues at the Save Sight Institute in Australia prospectively studied 24 eyes with diabetic macular edema. All eyes were injected with intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide. Visual acuity was measured at baseline and 3 months after treatment.

Average foveal thickness at baseline was 462 µm and had dropped to a mean of 257 µm at 3 months. Best corrected logMAR average visual acuity was 60.5 ETDRS letters at baseline compared with 65.5 letters at the follow-up mark. Visual acuity and foveal thickness reduction were not correlated. There was, however, a correlation between foveal thickness reduction and patient age.

The study is published in the May issue of American Journal of Ophthalmology.