Intravitreal triamcinolone for refractory pseudophakic macular edema.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of intravitreal triamcinolone in refractory pseudophakic cystoid macular edema.

Design: A prospective, interventional case series.

Methods: Three eyes of three patients with longstanding pseudophakic cystoid macular edema following uncomplicated cataract surgery, refractory to any medication, were treated with 8 mg of intravitreal triamcinolone. All three eyes were evaluated before injection and throughout follow-up with the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study's visual acuity chart, fluorescein angiography, and macular mapping using optical coherence tomography.

Results: A month after intravitreal triamcinolone injection, a dramatic decrease in macular thickness was noted by optical coherence tomography in all three eyes (from a mean of 502-233 microm). Mean improvement in visual acuity was 3.7 Snellen lines. Two to 4 months after triamcinolone injection, however, the edema recurred in all cases, to the same degree as before the injection, combined with a decrease in vision. Two eyes underwent a second injection of triamcinolone, and macular thickness decreased, but the edema again recurred 3 months after injection.

Conclusion: Intravitreal injection of triamcinolone induces striking regression, within 1 month, of chronic refractory macular edema. This regression appears to be transient, however, even after a second injection.