Pneumatic Displacement of Acute Submacular Hemorrhage with and without the use of Tissue Plasminogen Activator

Abstract

Purpose.

To evaluate the efficacy of C₃F₈ gas-assisted pneumatic displacement in the treatment of massive submacular hemorrhage, with and without the use of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA).

Methods.

Twenty-one eyes of 21 patients with recently developed (up to 10 days) dense submacular hemorrhage underwent intravitreal injection of pure C₃F₈ gas (0.4–0.5 mL) followed by face-down positioning for pneumatic displacement. Seven of them received additional intravitreal injection of 25–50 μg tPA. The primary etiology of submacular hemorrhage was age-related macular degeneration (n=16), myopic choroidal neovascularization (n=2), retinal arterial macroaneurysm (n=2), and trauma (n=1). Visual acuity and displacement of hemorrhage were the main outcome measures.

Results.

Follow-up period was 6–12 months. Effective displacement of hemorrhage was obtained in 20 of 21 patients within 7 days. Final median Snellen visual acuity (0.18) was found significantly improved compared to baseline (0.03) (p<0.001). Visual acuity improvement was similar in both groups (p=0–72).

Conclusions.

Intravitreal injection of C₃F₈ effectively displaced thick submacular hemorrhage and improved visual acuity independently from primary cause. Additional tPA use in this study had no impact on the final outcomes.