Safety of intravitreal injection of bevacizumab in rabbit eyes.

Abstract

To evaluate the safety of intravitreal injection of bevacizumab in rabbits using electrophysiological testing and histopathologic analysis. New Zealand albino rabbits were injected in one eye with control antibody (n = 2), 0.05 mL of bevacizumab (n = 3), or 0.2 mL of bevacizumab (n = 3). Electroretinograms were obtained 1 week and 4 weeks after injection. Histologic analysis was performed after completion of the electroretinographic studies. No statistical differences were seen in scotopic and photopic a- and b-wave amplitudes between untreated control and bevacizumab-injected eyes. No histopathologic differences were identified between untreated control and bevacizumab-injected eyes. Our study did not find evidence of retinal toxicity from a single intravitreal injection of bevacizumab in rabbits.