AIM: To evaluate the real life anatomical and visual outcome after intravitreal anti-VEGF treatment in diabetic macular edema(DME)throughout 24mo.

METHODS: Treatment naive central-involved DME patients with intraretinal and/or subretinal fluid and baseline central macular thickness(CMT)over 300 μm in spectral domain optic coherence tomography scans who received intravitreal injections between June 2012 and December 2016 were included in the study. The changes in visual acuity(VA)and CMT, and total number of patient visits and intravitreal injections were assessed in the baseline of 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24mo.

RESULTS: Totally 54 eyes of 40 patients were included. VA at baseline improved from 0.67±0.47 LogMAR to 0.59±0.43 LogMAR at 3mo and maintained with 3.5±2.19 injections throughout 12mo. The average number of visits was 9±2.39 and 15.48±4.84 at 12mo and 24mo, respectively. The mean CMT at baseline was 450±153μm and decreased to 385±141μm and 305±111μm at 12 and 24mo, respectively(P<0.001).

CONCLUSION: Pro re nata(PRN)approach in DME treatment may keep the VA stable and reduce macular edema, but probably similar or better treatment effectivity could be obtained with a lower visit burden in proactive regimens.