Laser therapy is safer than corticosteroids for BRVO and equally effective

This phase III clinical trial conducted at 84 sites compared the efficacy and safety of 1-mg and 4-mg doses of preservative-free intravitreal triamcinolone with standard laser grid photocoagulation in 411 patients with branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). 

This research was part of the Standard Care vs. Corticosteroid for Retinal Vein Occlusion (SCORE) Study and was supported by the National Eye Institute at the National Institutes of Health.

Patients could receive treatment every four months for up to three years. At one year, 20 to 30 percent of patients in each group experienced substantial visual gains of three or more lines. However, patients receiving either dosage of corticosteroid were more likely to develop a cataract or have increased IOP requiring medication than patients in the laser group. Between one and two years after treatment began, patients who received the 4-mg dosage were also more likely to undergo cataract surgery.

"The SCORE study is the first to demonstrate that laser treatment and injections of corticosteroid into the eye have a similar impact on vision loss for patients who have retinal swelling due to branch retinal vein occlusion," said Ingrid U. Scott, M.D., M.P.H., professor at Penn State College of Medicine and co-chair of the SCORE study. "However, the lower rate of complications with laser treatment may indicate that it is the best proven treatment option for patients at this time, and that laser represents the benchmark against which other treatments should be compared in future clinical trials."