Sequential tissue plasminogen activator, pneumatic displacement, and anti-VEGF treatment for submacular hemorrhage.

Purpose: To report the results of our sequential intravitreal (IV) tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), pneumatic displacement (PD), and IV anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) treatment in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD)-related submacular hemorrhage (SMH).

Methods: A total of 16 eyes of 16 patients with SMH of less than 15 days duration were included in this retrospective pilot study. The tPA was applied on the day of diagnosis, and PD was performed the following day. Patients received 3 consecutive monthly IV injections of ranibizumab starting from 15 days after PD. During the follow-ups, additional ranibizumab treatment was performed if persistent macular or recurrent subretinal or intraretinal fluid hemorrhage was observed.

Results: The mean central retinal thickness was 489 ± 92 μm (311-621 μm) at the time of diagnosis, 324 ± 56 μm (209-409 μm) at the first month, 262 ± 48 μm (197-364 μm) at 3 months, 248 ± 40 μm (190-334 μm) at 6 months, and 253 ± 41 μm (192-356 μm) at the last control (p<0.01). The mean best-corrected visual acuity was 2.08 ± 0.79 logMAR (0.7-3.0 logMAR) at baseline, 1.41 ± 0.70 logMAR (0.56-2.50 logMAR) at the first month, 1.21 ± 0.66 logMAR (0.3-2.0 logMAR) at 3 months, 1.14 ± 0.77 logMAR (0.2-2.50 logMAR) at 6 months, and 1.09 ± 0.73 logMAR (0.3-2.50 logMAR) at the last follow-up (p<0.01).

Conclusions: Sequential IV tPA, PD, and IV anti-VEGF treatments for SMH in patients with nAMD is effective. However, further studies are needed to establish the best treatment algorithm for SMH in patients with nAMD.