The importance of pegaptanib sodium treatment for patients with vascular active vitreoretinopathy

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to report the importance of pegaptanib sodium (PGSD) injection treatment for vascular active vitreoretinopathy (VAVR). A total of 82 patients with VAVR diagnosed by increasing subretinal exudation were enrolled and received a single intravitreal injection of PGSD. The efficacies of PGSD for patients with VAVR were analyzed using photography, fluorescein angiography and optical coherence tomography. The pathological changes in vascular activity, amount of exudation and visual acuity between the PGSD, and placebo group were also compared. The results demonstrated that the PGSD injection significantly decreased subretinal exudation and leakage compared with the placebo when assessed using fluorescein angiography in a 12-month follow-up. It was observed that the PGSD injection inhibited inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor α for patients with VAVR compared with the placebo. Furthermore, results demonstrated that the average inflammation score and intraocular pressure was significantly decreased compared with the placebo. Visual acuity was improved from 1.3 to 0.7 in the majority of patients in the PGSD group. In conclusion, the outcomes of the present study indicate that the PGSD intravitreal injection is an efficient treatment option for patients with VAVR.