Combination of intravitreal bevacizumab and erythropoietin versus intravitreal bevacizumab alone for refractory diabetic macular edema: a randomized double-blind clinical trial.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of three intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) injections alone or in combination with intravitreal erythropoietin (EPO) in the treatment of refractory diabetic macular edema (DME).

Methods: In a randomized double-blind clinical trial, 48 eyes of 34 diabetic patients with refractory DME were enrolled. Eyes were randomly assigned to receive either 3 monthly injections of 0.