Effects of intravitreal aflibercept (Eylea) in the treatment of bilateral cystoid macular edema in retinitis pigmentosa: A case report

. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of intravitreal injections of aflibercept (Eylea) on bilateral cystoid macular edema in a patient with retinitis pigmentosa. Material and Methods. A 17-year-old man presented with a moderate bilateral decrease of visual acuity (0.3) and ocular examination was performed. Optical coherence tomography imaging was performed and cystoid macular edema was detected in both eyes. Due to disease progression in a short period of time, intravitreal repeated injections of aflibercept (Eylea) were initiated according to recent clinical reports. Results. The initial values of cystoid macular edema before intravitreal therapy were 248 mm in the right and 237 mm in the left eye; they increased slowly in next several weeks. Four bilateral repeated doses of intravitreal aflibercept injections at 6-week intervals were given in local anesthesia. The patient reported a subjective improvement, and his visual acuity was 4/10 in both eyes. Objectively, the macular edema decreased at week 24, reaching 173 mm in the right and 188 mm in the left eye. Conclusion. There are few literature reports on the possible effects of intravitreal aflibercept injections in the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa-related cystoid macular edema. In our study, bilateral macular edema in a patient with retinitis pigmentosa has improved significantly after four consecutive treatments. Further studies are necessary with a larger sample size and longer follow-up period to obtain information on the role and safety of intravitreal drugs for cystoid macular edema in retinitis pigmentosa.