Subtenon triamcinolone acetonide to treat diabetic macular edema.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of Triamcinolone Acetonide subtenon injections in the treatment of diabetic macular edema. Methods: We selected 11 patients, 8 of which were male, and 3 of which were female, ages ranging between 61 and 74 years old (average 68.3). The patients were all affected by diabetes type II and they presented macular edema previously diagnosed with fluorescence angiography. The patients’ visual acuity was evaluated utilizing the ETDRS logarithm (logMAR), the measurement of intraocular pressure (IOP), and a biomicroscopic examination of both anterior and posterior segments of the eyes. Subsequently, an Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) was performed using an OCT3 (Zeiss-Humphrey, Dublin, CA). After a topical 0.4% oxybuprocaine anesthesia, the patients were given a 40 mg peribulbar inferotemporal subtenon injection of Triamcinolone Acetonide. Each patient was given three injections; each injection separated by 30 days. After each injection, the patients were prescribed a topical antibiotic treatment for three consecutive days. Results: Visual acuity before cortisonic treatment was 0.464+0.112 log with a 16.182+1.4011 mm/Hg. A month after the beginning of the treatment, visual acuity was 0.118+0.125 log (p<0.001) while the IOP was 16.727+1.191 mm/Hg (p<0.147). Twelve months after the end of the treatment, we observed a stabilization of visual acuity and IOP. After three months of treatment, the condition was successfully cured. The OCT results were also stable a year after the treatment. Conclusions: Utilizing Triamcinolone Acetonide with a peribulbar subtenon injection showed to be an effective solution for diabetic macular edema without showing signs of the complication