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Bevacizumab effect minimal after trabeculectomy
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ORLANDO, Fla. — The success of bevacizumab in changing the outcome of IOP, bleb vascularization and fibrosis after trabeculectomy was not significant, according to a poster presentation here at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting.
“We didn’t get the final result that we were hoping for,” co-author Catherine M. Birt, MD, FRCSC, told Ocular Surgery News. “There were some encouraging indicators that the study group was doing better, but the differences did not reach a statistical significance; therefore, we are not on the basis of these data recommending everyone get bevacizumab injections postoperatively.”
The prospective study randomized 59 patients with glaucoma undergoing trabeculectomy with mitomycin C into two groups: those who received adjunctive subconjunctival Avastin 1.25 mg (bevacizumab, Genentech) on postoperative day 2 and those who received 0.1 mL sterile saline adjacent to the bleb.
Fifty-nine percent of blebs were considered optimal in the bevacizumab group at the 1-year follow-up compared with 55% in the saline group, according to the poster.
Preoperative IOP was 23.2 mm Hg in the bevacizumab group and 25.7 mm Hg in the saline group. At 6 months postoperatively, IOP was 12.9 mm Hg in the bevacizumab group and 13.2 mm Hg in the saline group.
“The number of patients considered a complete success was higher in [the bevacizumab] group, but this was not statistically significant. The higher rate of success in [the bevacizumab] group can be explained by the 5-fluorouracil needlings performed during the 6-week postoperative period, which is not considered a criterion for failure,” Birt and colleagues said in the poster.
Disclosure: Birt received funding for medications by the Glaucoma Research Society of Canada.