Influence of the epiretinal membrane on ranibizumab therapy outcomes in patients with diabetic macular edema

Purpose: To investigate the influence of the epiretinal membrane (ERM) on intra-vitreal ranibizumab (IVR) therapy for diabetic macular edema (DME). Methods: This retrospective study included 56 eyes of 48 patients with DME divided into two groups: the DME with ERM (study) and only DME (control) groups. Changes in the central macular thickness (CMT) and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) were evaluated. Results: In the study group, although the CMT was significantly reduced following the first injection (p<0.001), BCVA did not improve significantly (p=0.296). However, after the first injection, the control group exhibited both a significant decrease in CMT (p<0.001) and improvement in BCVA (p<0.001). However, the improvement in BCVA in the control group was not significantly different from the outcome of the study group. Conclusions: We observed a negative short-term influence of the ERM on IVR treatment for DME.