Original articleSerum Concentrations of Bevacizumab (Avastin) and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in Infants With Retinopathy of Prematurity
Section snippets
Methods
The fundus of infants with ROP was examined with a slit lamp and contact lens (Volk Quad Pediatric Lens; Volk Optical Inc, Mentor, Ohio, USA) under general anesthesia. During the examinations, fundus photographs and fluorescein angiograms were taken with a RetCam 120 digital fundus camera (Clarity Medical Systems, Inc, Pleasanton, California, USA). The stage of the ROP was based on the International Classification of Retinopathy of Prematurity.16 The ROP eyes were also classified into 3 groups
Results
Eleven infants (4 girls and 7 boys) with highly vascular-active ROP were studied. The demographics of the patients are summarized in Table 1. Three patients received intravitreal bevacizumab in 1 eye and the other 8 received intravitreal bevacizumab in both eyes. The mean gestational age of the infants was 25 weeks (range, 23–27 weeks), and the mean body weight at birth was 660 grams (range, 332–1042 grams). All of the infants had received laser photocoagulation of the peripheral avascular
Discussion
Our results showed that the serum bevacizumab level was significantly higher at 1 week after than before the intravitreal bevacizumab in the ROP infants who received a total of 0.5 mg or 1.0 mg of intravitreal bevacizumab. In addition, the serum VEGF level was significantly lower at 1 week after than before the intravitreal bevacizumab in the ROP infants who underwent a total of 0.5 mg of intravitreal bevacizumab. Our results showed that there was a significant negative correlation between the
Tatsuhiko Sato, MD, received his medical degree from Osaka University Medical School, Osaka, Japan, in 2001. He completed residency at Osaka University Hospital. Now he is an attending staff in Ophthalmology at Osaka Rosai Hospital. His field of interest includes surgical treatment of vitreoretinal disease such as diabetic retinopathy, retinal detachment, and retinopathy of prematurity.
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Tatsuhiko Sato, MD, received his medical degree from Osaka University Medical School, Osaka, Japan, in 2001. He completed residency at Osaka University Hospital. Now he is an attending staff in Ophthalmology at Osaka Rosai Hospital. His field of interest includes surgical treatment of vitreoretinal disease such as diabetic retinopathy, retinal detachment, and retinopathy of prematurity.