PURPOSE: To investigate the association of intraocular concentrations of inflammatory factors and improvement of macular edema after vitrectomy for patients with macular edema in branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). DESIGN: Retrospective case-control study. METHODS: Seventeen patients with BRVO who underwent vitreous surgery for macular edema and 15 control patients were enrolled from Hachioji Medical Center of Tokyo Medical University. The concentrations of eight inflammatory factors were measured in vitreous and aqueous fluids obtained at the time of vitrectomy using a flow cytometer. Macular thickness was measured by optical coherence tomography before and one, three, and six months after surgery. Correlations between the concentrations of inflammatory factors and macular thickness were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Higher aqueous and vitreous concentrations of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and interleukin (IL)-8 were significantly correlated with a greater difference in macular thickness between before and six months after surgery (vitreous VEGF, P=.047; aqueous VEGF, P=.032; vitreous IL-8, P=.016; and aqueous IL-8, P=.032). Higher intraocular concentrations of monokine induced by interferon γ (Mig) were significantly correlated with a smaller degree of macular thickness six months after surgery (vitreous Mig, P=.038; aqueous Mig, P=.009). CONCLUSION: High preoperative VEGF, IL-8, and Mig concentrations were associated with improvement of macular edema six months after vitreous surgery in patients with macular edema attributable to BRVO.
PURPOSE: To investigate the association of intraocular concentrations of inflammatory factors and improvement of macular edema after vitrectomy for patients with macular edema in branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). DESIGN: Retrospective case-control study. METHODS: Seventeen patients with BRVO who underwent vitreous surgery for macular edema and 15 control patients were enrolled from Hachioji Medical Center of Tokyo Medical University. The concentrations of eight inflammatory factors were measured in vitreous and aqueous fluids obtained at the time of vitrectomy using a flow cytometer. Macular thickness was measured by optical coherence tomography before and one, three, and six months after surgery. Correlations between the concentrations of inflammatory factors and macular thickness were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Higher aqueous and vitreous concentrations of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and interleukin (IL)-8 were significantly correlated with a greater difference in macular thickness between before and six months after surgery (vitreous VEGF, P=.047; aqueous VEGF, P=.032; vitreous IL-8, P=.016; and aqueous IL-8, P=.032). Higher intraocular concentrations of monokine induced by interferon γ (Mig) were significantly correlated with a smaller degree of macular thickness six months after surgery (vitreous Mig, P=.038; aqueous Mig, P=.009). CONCLUSION: High preoperative VEGF, IL-8, and Mig concentrations were associated with improvement of macular edema six months after vitreous surgery in patients with macular edema attributable to BRVO.