Evaluation of ocular blood flow with color doppler ultrasonography after intravitreal aflibercept injection

EVALUATION OF OCULAR BLOOD FLOW WITH COLOR DOPPLER ULTRASONOGRAPHY AFTER INTRAVITREAL AFLIBERCEPT INJECTION Purpose : To evaluate possible changes in ocular blood flow with color doppler ultrasonography (CDU) after intravitreal aflibercept injection. Materials and Methods : Twenty patients whom underwent intravitreal aflibercept injection due to choroidal neovascular membrane (CNV) were included in our study. Peak systolic velocity (PSV), end diastolic velocity (EDV), pulsativity index (PI) and resistivity index (RI) were measured from ophthalmic artery (OA), central retinal artery (CRA), temporal posterior ciliary artery (TPCA) and nasal posterior ciliary artery (NPCA) from all patients before, 1 day, 1 week and 1 month after aflibercept injection. Results : There was no significant statistical difference of twenty patients whom included in our study in terms of intraocular pressure, mean OA PSV, OA EDV, OA PI, OA RI, CRA PSV, TPCA EDV, TPCA EDV, TPCA PI, TPSA RI, NPSA EDV and NPCA RI compared before injection, 1 day,1 week and 1 month after the injection. There was a significant increase between the values of mean CRA EDV before the injection and all measurements after injection (p=0,025). During the follow up time, there was a significant increase between the values of mean CRA EDV of injection eye compared with the control eye (∆p=0,038). There was a significant decrease between the values of mean CRA PI before the injection and all measurements after injection (p=0,030). During the follow up time, there was a significant decrease between the values of mean CRA PI of injection eye compared with the control eye (∆p=0,017). There was a significant decrease between the values of mean CRA RI before the injection and all measurements after injection (p=0,043). During the follow up time, there was a significant decrease between the values of mean CRA RI of injection eye compared with the control eye (∆p=0,018). There was a significant decrease between the values of mean NPCA PI before the injection and all measurements after injection (p=0,003). During the follow up time, there was a significant decrease between the values of mean NPCA PI of injection eye compared with the control eye (∆p=0,047). Conclusion : We detected statistically significant changes in ocular blood flow with CDU after intravitreal aflibercept injection in patients with CNV. Key Words : Intravitreal aflibercept, ocular blood flow, color doppler ultrasonography, choroidal neovascular membrane, age dependent macular degeneration