Ocular and Systemic Results of Intravitreal Bevacizumab Injection in Retinopathy of Prematurity Treatment

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of an intravitreal bevacizumab injection (IVB) in the treatment of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).
METHODS: The medical records of patients who had received IVB treatment for ROP between January 2014 and October 2018. Anatomical and functional outcomes were evaluated. The Denver II Developmental Screening Test was administered and fluorescein angiography (FA) was performed in some cases.
RESULTS: Thirty-eight eyes of 19 infants were included in the study. An IVB injection was administered to 9 infants with aggressive posterior ROP (APROP) disease (Group 1), 6 infants with any stage ROP with plus disease in zone I (Group 2), and 4 infants with stage 2-3 ROP with plus disease in zone II (Group 3). Complete retinal vascularization was observed in 24 eyes of 12 infants who received a single dose of bevacizumab without any additional treatment. Recurrence of the disease was observed in 12 eyes of 6 infants diagnosed with APROP and laser photocoagulation was performed. FA was performed to 5 IVB patients whose parents approved the procedure. The Denver II Developmental Screening Test was administered to all of the participants, and the test outcomes were consistent with the corrected age of the children, though 2 infants demonstrated a developmental delay in gross motor development tasks. Overall, good anatomical and functional results were obtained.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: IVB is an effective and relatively safe treatment modality for infants with ROP; however, prospective studies are required to provide more detailed information about systemic side effects.