Dexamethasone intravitreal implant in treatment-naive diabetic macular oedema: findings from the prospective, multicentre, AUSSIEDEX study

Aim To evaluate the effectiveness of dexamethasone intravitreal implant 0.7 mg (DEX; Ozurdex) monotherapy in the patient subgroup of the AUSSIEDEX study with treatment-naive diabetic macular oedema (DME). Methods The open-label, prospective, phase 4, real-world study included pseudophakic eyes and phakic eyes scheduled for cataract surgery that were treatment-naive or non-responsive to antivascular endothelial growth factors. No eyes were excluded based on baseline best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) or central subfield retinal thickness (CRT). After the initial DEX injection at the baseline visit, reinjection was permitted at >= 16-week intervals. Week-16 and week-52 visits were mandatory. Primary endpoints were changes in mean BCVA and CRT from baseline to 52 weeks. Results Of 200 eyes enrolled in the AUSSIEDEX study, 57 were treatment-naive. Baseline mean BCVA was 58.8 letters and baseline mean CRT was 418.6 mu m; changes in mean BCVA and CRT from baseline to 52 weeks in this subgroup were 3.4 letters (p=0.042) and -89.6 mu m (p<0.001), respectively, with a mean 2.5 injections. The change in mean CRT from baseline was -55.8 mu m at week 16 (p<0.001). The most common adverse event was increased intraocular pressure (IOP), with 20.0% of eyes requiring IOP-lowering medication. One patient was discontinued due to increased IOP. No eyes required filtration surgery. No serious, treatment-related ocular adverse events were reported. Conclusion In this largest prospective, real-world study of DEX monotherapy for DME to date, DEX significantly improved CRT and BCVA at 52 weeks in treatment-naive eyes, without new safety concerns, supporting DEX use in treatment-naive DME.