Aflibercept Versus Ranibizumab in Diabetic Macular Edema Associated with Epiretinal Membrane

Purpose: To compare the efficacy of ranibizumab and aflibercept in the treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME) associated with epiretinal membrane (ERM). Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective, comparative study. The treatment-naïve diabetic macular edema patients who had diabetic macular edema associated with epiretinal membrane and underwent intravitreal aflibercept or intravitreal ranibizumab treatment were included. The patients were treated on a loading dose of 3-monthly injections. The primary outcome measures of this study were the changes in best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) (LogMAR), central macular thickness (CMT) (µm) and intraocular pressure (IOP) (mmHg). Results: A total of 98 patients with ERM and DME were included in the study. Ranibizumab group included fourty five patients who received intravitreal ranibizumab 3 times with a 1-month interval and Aflibercept group included 53 patients who received intravitreal aflibercept 3 times with a 1-month interval. After the 3 months follow-up period, there was no statisticaly difference in terms of CMT, BCVA and IOP (p=0.507, p=0.269, p=0.897, respectively). Conclusion: It seems that three monthly injections of aflibercept and ranibizumab ensured statistically significant improvement in visual acuity and decrease in CMT in DME patients associated with ERM. There were no difference in intravitreal aflibercept and ranibizumab response in DME patients associated with ERM.