Pilot and Phase 2 Study of the Efficacy of a Treatment Protocol With Dexamethasone Implant Loading Dose in Patients With Diabetic Macular Edema (LOADEX)

Nowadays, steroids and anti-VEGF are the first line treatment for diabetic macular edema. Ozurdex is the most frequently used steroid and has label for both first and second line treatment. Ozurdex treatment paradigm for patients with diabetic macular edema is to inject patient only in case of huge recurrence. The risk of this scheme is a progressive loss of vision due to photoreceptors loss. A more pro-active regimen, as it already exists for anti-VEGF treatment, would allow a better patient management. A new treatment paradigm consisting in a loading dose of 2 injections within 12 weeks, followed by a PRN (Pro Re Nata) regimen with strict retreatment criteria and minimal time limit of 12 weeks between two injections should result in a better visual acuity gain and a limited augmentation of the number of injections (which will remain lower than the number observed for anti-VEGF treatment). The investigators have therefore chosen a pilot study to investigate the impact on efficacy and on the number of intravitreal injections (IVI) of such a scheme.

NCT Number	NCT04116398
Lead Sponsor	Hospices Civils de Lyon
Conditions	Diabetic Macular Edema
Enrollment	53 participants
Start Date	2020-11-30
Primary Completion	2025-12 (estimated)
Study Completion	2026-12 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2025-11-19