Abstract: Background: The permanent and disability-inducing vision loss is mostly caused by diabetic retinopathy (DR) and clinically severe macular edema. This study set intended to evaluate the effects of ranibizumab on diabetic macular edema (DME) patients' visual outcomes and any changes to their foveal avascular zone (FAZ).
Methods: This single-arm interventional study enrolled 30 eyes of 30 diabetic patients, aged ?18 years, both sexes, and had DME requiring an intravitreal injection of ranibizumab (macular thickness >400 micron) as confirmed by optical coherence tomography angiography and fluorescein angiography. Three doses of Ranibizumab were administered intravitreally to each patient, with a one-month interval between each dosage.
Results: Best corrected visual acuity was significantly lower at (1, 2 and 3 months) than pretreatment (P<0.001). The contrast sensitivity test and normal color vision test were significantly higher at (1, 2 and 3 months) than pretreatment (P<0.05). Intraocular pressure (IOP) was insignificantly different between (1, 2 and 3 months) and pretreatment. FAZ area in superficial capillary plexus and FAZ area in deep capillary plexus was insignificantly different between (1, 2 and 3 months) and pretreatment. Fundus examination significantly improved at 3 months than 1 month (P=0.009) and was insignificantly different between 1 and 2 months.
Conclusions: Analyzing the form and size of FAZ is likely crucial for identifying pathological macular changes and forecasting visual outcomes in DR.
