Purpose: To evaluate real-world evidence for intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation after subtenon triamcinolone acetonide injection (STTA) in 1252 Japanese patients (1406 eyes) in the Japan Clinical REtina STudy group (J-CREST).
Methods: This was a multicentre retrospective study of the medical records of 1252 patients (676 men (758 eyes); mean age: 63.8 ± 12.9 years) who received STTA in participating centres between April 2013 and July 2017.
Results: IOP elevation was observed in 206 eyes (14.7%) and IOP increase ≥ 6 mmHg was found in 328 eyes (23.3%). In total, 106 eyes (7.5%) needed medication and two eyes (0.14%) needed surgical procedures. Younger age, higher baseline IOP, and steroid dose were risk factors associated with IOP elevation. Risk factors associated with IOP increase ≥ 6 mmHg were younger age, lower baseline IOP, steroid dose, and higher incidences of diabetic macular oedema (DME) and uveitis. In contrast, with steroid dose fixed at 20 mg, a lower incidence of DME was a risk factor for increased IOP, suggesting that STTA had dose-dependent effects on IOP increase, especially in patients with DME.
Conclusion: Our real-world evidence from a large sample of Japanese patients who received STTA showed that the incidence of IOP elevation after STTA was 14.7%, and was associated with younger age, higher baseline IOP, and steroid dose. Thus, IOP should be monitored, especially in patients with younger age, higher baseline IOP, and higher incidences of DME and uveitis.