Quantitative comparison of blood vessel changes after treatment of retinopathy of prematurity with laser versus bevacizumab

Current therapies for treatment-indicated (type 1) retinopathy of prematurity mainly consist of laser photocoagulation and intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (eg, bevacizumab) injection. The first visible signs of acute-phase regression are typically vascular, including decreased plus disease. Using a semi-automated computer program, we quantitatively compared posterior pole vascular changes following treatment with laser versus bevacizumab and found that in the first month following treatment, vascular dilation and tortuosity significantly decreased following either treatment modality, but tortuosity decreased earlier and faster after bevacizumab.

Automated summary

Current therapies for treatment-indicated retinopathy of prematurity mainly include laser photocoagulation and bevacizumab injection. Quantitative analysis showed that vascular dilation and tortuosity decreased significantly following both treatments, but bevacizumab had a faster effect on tortuosity reduction.