Skip to main content

  • Bevacizumab leads to low rates of retinal detachment in infants with ROP

    Pediatric Ophth/Strabismus, Retina/Vitreous

    Add to My Bookmarks

    Review of: Short-term retinal detachment risk after treatment of type 1 retinopathy of prematurity with laser photocoagulation versus intravitreal bevacizumab

    Barry G, Tauber K, Fisher M, et al. Journal of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, October 2019

    This retrospective analysis reviewed the short-term risk of retinal detachment among infants requiring treatment for type 1 ROP.

    Study design

    The authors included 222 eyes of 115 consecutive infants treated with panretinal photocoagulation laser or intravitreal bevacizumab for type 1 ROP between 2010 and 2018.

    Outcomes

    Among eyes treated before 36 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA), retinal detachment occurred in 0 of 34 eyes treated in the bevacizumab group and in 9 of 56 eyes in the laser group (P=0.0112). In eyes treated at or after 36 weeks PMA, retinal detachment occurred in 0 of 2 bevacizumab-treated eyes and in 1 of 130 laser-treated eyes.

    Limitations

    This study only reviewed records from a single institution.

    Clinical significance

    In the short-term, bevacizumab had a lower risk of retinal detachment than laser among infants requiring treatment for type 1 ROP. The authors proposed that these findings reflect the faster effect of bevacizumab in eyes with aggressive ROP.