• Samuel Kyei, Frederick Afum Asare, John Kwesi Assan, Ebenezer Zaabaar, Frank Assiamah, Eric Obour Obeng, and Kofi Asiedu.
• Department of Optometry and Vision Science, School of Allied Health Sciences, College of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana. skyei@ucc.edu.gh.
• Ir J Med Sci. 2023 Dec 1; 192 (6): 277727832777-2783.

PurposeTo evaluate the short-term effect of intravitreal bevacizumab (avastin) injection on visual outcomes of patients with diabetic macular oedema.MethodsA retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate 39 eyes of thirty-nine patients (mean age ± SD: 61.4 ± 15.0 years) that received intravitreal bevacizumab injection (1.25 mg in 0.05 ml) as treatment for diabetic macular oedema between January 2014 and July 2019 in Ghana. Data on visual acuity and central macular thickness before treatment and 6 weeks post-treatment were collected and analysed using paired t-test. Ordinary least squares linear regression analysis was also conducted to determine the relationship between improvement in visual acuity and central macular thickness after treatment and other predictor variables.ResultsThe mean ± SD visual acuity (LogMAR-equivalent of Snellen) of patients with diabetic macular oedema significantly improved from 0.84 ± 0.58 LogMAR before treatment to 0.69 ± 0.58 LogMAR at 6 weeks post-treatment (mean difference: 0.15 ± 0.32 LogMAR; 95% CI: 0.04 to 0.25; p = 0.01). Mean macular thickness ± SD on the other hand, reduced significantly (p < 0.001) from 316.54 ± 75.35 μm before treatment to 275.54 ± 57.43 μm after treatment. While age and worse pre-treatment visual acuity predicted improvement in visual acuity after treatment, a higher central macular thickness before treatment predicted an improvement in central macular thickness after intravitreal bevacizumab injection.ConclusionTreatment with intravitreal bevacizumab injection produces short-term improvement in vision and reduction in central macular thickness in African patients with diabetic macular oedema.© 2023. This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply.

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