Incidence of intraocular pressure elevation following intravitreal ranibizumab (Lucentis) for age-related macular degeneration

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this article is to evaluate the rate of patients developing sustained elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) after ranibizumab (Lucentis) intravitreal (IVT) injections. Design: This is a retrospective study. Participants: Charts of 192 consecutive patients receiving Lucentis for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) were retrospectively reviewed. Materials and methods: We enrolled patients with at least two IOP measurements between injections. Elevated IOP was defined as >21 mm Hg with an increase of at least 20% from baseline. Noninjected contralateral eyes of the same patient cohort were used as control. Main outcome measures: Primary outcome was defined as elevated IOP. Secondary outcomes were presence and type of glaucoma, number of injections, and time to IOP elevation. Results: Elevated IOP occurred at a significantly higher rate in eyes receiving IVT ranibizumab (7.47%; n = 9) compared with control (0.93%; n = 1). Patients with preexisting glaucoma or ocular hypertension (OHT) were more likely to develop elevated IOP after IVT ranibizumab injection. Conclusion: Intravitreal ranibizumab injections are associated with sustained IOP elevation in some eyes.