Primary intravitreal bevacizumab injection as a monotherapy versus combined intravitreal bevacizumab with argon laser photocoagulation in management of diabetic macular edema: A comparative study

Purpose: To assess the effectiveness of bevacizumab versus bevacizumab with macular laser photocoagulation in diabetic macular edema. Patients and Methods: Forty eyes of 31 patients with macular edema were enrolled in this study; Group A, twenty eyes received baseline three monthly injections of bevacizumab (1.25 mg/0.05 ml), then monthly reinjection according to pro re nata (PRN) regimen, and Group B, twenty eyes received one injection plus laser 1 month later, then monthly injections according to PRN regimen (? according to PRN also). Results: In Group A, no significant change in mean best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) throughout 1 year (P = 0.165), as compared to Group B (P < 0.001). Mean BCVA in Group B at 12 months was 0.46 ± 0.30 compared with 0.75 ± 0.33 in Group A (P = 0.041).The mean number of injections in Group A was 5.55 times while in Group B was 1.4 times (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Combined treatment resulted in marked reduction of the number of injections required to control edema.