The Effect of Age on Dexamethasone Intravitreal Implant (Ozurdex®) Response in Macular Edema Secondary to Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion

Purpose: To investigate the effect of age on dexamethasone intravitreal implant (Ozurdex (R)) response in macular edema secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). Methods: Seventy-three eyes of 73 patients with macular edema secondary to BRVO were recruited in the study. The patients in the study were divided into the following four groups according to their ages: group 1 (<60 years), group 2 (60-69 years), group 3 (70-79 years), and group 4 (>= 80 years). Single-dose Ozurdex injection was applied to all patients. The effectiveness of Ozurdex treatment on macular edema is evaluated via optical coherence tomography (OCT) according to the age groups. Results: Two months after Ozurdex injection, mean reduction of central retinal thickness in groups 1, 2, 3, and 4 were -466.4 +/- 149.6, -379.7 +/- 238.7, -280.1 +/- 233.0, and -180.5 +/- 81.4 mu m, respectively. This reduction of central retinal thickness decreased with aging (p = 0.001). Also, ages of patients were negatively correlated with the mean reduction of central retinal thickness for the whole study group (r = -0.439, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Our study revealed that the effectiveness of Ozurdex treatment decreases with aging.