Materials and Methods: This was a prospective, uncontrolled, consecutive case series of injections of 1.25 mg IVB for refractory DME. Eighty-nine eyes of 62 patients were included in this study. IVB injections were performed in all eyes according to the clinical situation.

Results: The mean visual acuity improved significantly at the posttreatment 4th (0.90±0.06 logMAR, p<0.05) and 8th (0.88±0.07 logMAR, p<0.05) weeks while there was also an increase, albeit not statistically significant, at the 12th (0.94±0.08 logMAR, p>0.05) week with respect to the baseline level (1.04±0.08 logMAR). There were significant reductions in mean central foveal thickness at the 4th (301.5±131.9 μm, p<0.01), 8th (302.6±113.4 μm, p<0.01) and 12th (326.3±171.7 μm, p<0.05) weeks of treatment when compared to the baseline value (352.8±154.7 μm). During the follow-up period, no significant change was observed in the mean intraocular pressure. Vision-threatening complications including endophthalmitis in one and temporary anterior chamber reaction in six eyes were observed while no serious systemic adverse events were detected.

Conclusion: Intravitreal bevacizumab injection at doses of 1.25 mg seems to be an effective and safe treatment agent for refractory DME. Keywords : Diabetic macular edema, intravitreal bevacizumab, vascular endothelial growth factor