Macular Edema Nepafenac vs. Difluprednate Uveitis Trial (MEND)
Uveitis, Macular Edema
About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Uveitis focused on measuring difluprednate, prednisolone acetate, nepafenac
Eligibility Criteria
108 patients with uveitic ME will be enrolled at Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai, India based on the following eligibility criteria:
Patient-level Inclusion criteria:
- ≥18 years of age
- Diagnosis of anterior, intermediate, posterior, or panuveitis (can be infectious or non-infectious)
- Inactive or minimally active inflammation according to Standardization of Uveitis Nomenclature criteria (≤ 0.5+ Anterior Chamber (AC) cells, ≤ 0.5+ vitreous haze and no active retinal/choroidal lesions)
- If on oral corticosteroids, a stable dose of <10 mg prednisone/day for >4 weeks
- If on systemic corticosteroid-sparing immunomodulatory therapy, a stable dose for >4 weeks
- If using prednisolone acetate 1% drops, stable regimen of ≤2 drops per day for >4 weeks
- If infectious uveitis, inflammation must be inactive or minimally active per definition above and on stable dose of treatment for ≥4 weeks with no anticipated changes to treatment during the trial
Eye-level Inclusion Criteria
- ME defined as thickening of the 1mm central subfield of the macula greater than 2 standard deviations above normal thickness (>320 µm by Heidelberg spectral-domain OCT) with or without the presence of intraretinal cysts.
- Baseline intraocular pressure >5 mmHg and <21 mmHg (current use ≤3 intraocular pressure-lowering medications and/or prior glaucoma surgery are acceptable)
- Media clarity and pupillary dilation sufficient to allow OCT testing and retinal photography
- Best-corrected visual acuity of 5/200 or better
Patient-level Exclusion Criteria
- Use of oral acetazolamide or other systemic carbonic anhydrase inhibitors at baseline
- Known allergy or hypersensitivity to any component of the study drugs
- Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding (pregnancy test should be administered prior to baseline fluorescein angiogram)
- Patients unwilling or unable to not wear contact lenses during the study period
- History of central serous chorioretinopathy in either eye
Eye-level Exclusion Criteria
- Intravitreal or periocular corticosteroid injection in the past 8 weeks, dexamethasone implant in the past 12 months, or a fluocinolone acetonide implant in the past 3 years
- Presence of an epiretinal membrane-noted clinically or by OCT-in the study eye, thought to be significant enough to preclude improvement of ME
- Previous pars plana vitrectomy
- History of severe glaucoma (C/D ratio > 0.9 or any notching of optic nerve to rim)
- Prior use of difluprednate or nepafenac in the past 4 weeks
Sites / Locations
- Aravind Eye Hospital
- Aravind Eye Hospital
- Aravind Eye Hospital
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Arm 3
Experimental
Experimental
Experimental
Difluprednate
Nepafenac plus Prednisolone acetate
Difluprednate plus Nepafenac
Difluprednate 0.05% ophthalmic emulsion 4 times a day until Week 4, then decrease according to protocol (if resolution of edema at 4 weeks, decrease to 1 drop per day until Week 6, then stop; if not resolved, continue at 4 times a day until 6 weeks and then decrease to 1 drop per day until Week 8 if resolved, then stop). If macular edema not resolved (or reoccurs) by Week 8, treat per best medical judgement.
Nepafenac 0.1% 3 times a day until resolution; prednisolone acetate 1% 4 times a day until Week 4, then decrease according to protocol (if resolution of edema at Week 4, decrease to 1 drop per day until Week 6, then stop; if not resolved, continue at 4 times a day until Week 6, then decrease to 1 drop per day until Week 8, then stop). If macular edema not resolved (or reoccurs) by Week 8, treat per best medical judgement.
Nepafenac 0.1% 3 times a day until resolution; Difluprednate 0.05% ophthalmic emulsion 4 times a day until Week 4, then decrease according to protocol (if resolution of edema at 4 weeks, decrease to 1 drop per day until Week 6, then stop; if not resolved, continue at 4 times a day until 6 weeks and then decrease to 1 drop per day until Week 8 if resolved, then stop). If macular edema not resolved (or reoccurs) by Week 8, treat per best medical judgement.