Patient-Reported Complications after Intravitreal Injection and Their Predictive Factors

Abstract

Purpose: The intravitreal injection (IVI) of pharmacologic agents is the most commonly performed ocular procedure and is associated with a host of complications. Most IVI-related complications data are derived from randomized controlled clinical trials, which report a high adverse event rate. The nature of these protocol-driven trials limit their applicability to the diverse circumstances seen in routine clinical practice. The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of patient-reported IVI-related complications, their risk factors, and the manner in which patients sought treatment at a tertiary eye care center.

Design: Retrospective, institutional review board-approved study.

Participants: Forty-four thousand seven hundred thirty-four injections in 5318 unique patients at the Cleveland Clinic Cole Eye Institute from 2012 through 2016.

Methods: Intravitreal injection.

Main outcome measures: Complication occurrence within 15 days of injection.

Results: From 2012 through 2016, a total of 44734 injections were performed in 5318 unique patients. Overall, complication rates were low, representing 1.9% of all injections, with 1031 unique complications in 685 patients (12.9%). The most common minor complications, or those not requiring intervention, were irritation (n = 312) and subconjunctival hemorrhage (n = 284). The most common serious complications, or those requiring intervention, were corneal abrasion (n = 46) and iritis (n = 31). Most complications (66%) were managed adequately by a telephone or Epic (Epic Systems Corp., Verona, WI) electronic message encounter only. Importantly, no injection protocol parameter, such as type of anesthesia, preparation, or post-injection medication, increased the risk of a complication. However, a patient's gender, age, number of previous injections, and provider strongly influenced the risk of patient-reported complications.

Conclusions: Overall, complication rates seen in routine clinical practice were low compared with clinical trial reporting. Providers should feel confident in the safety and administration of IVI during times when follow-up office visits and resources may be limited. When performing an IVI, factors such as a patient's gender, age, number of previous injections, and provider must be taken into account to ensure the best possible outcomes.

Keywords: Complications; Intravitreal injection; Predictive factors; Retrospective.

Copyright © 2020 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Figures

Figure 1

Flow chart showing criteria for no complication, complication, and endophthalmitis groups. Patients with endophthalmitis were excluded from this study. ED = emergency department; IVI = intravitreal injection.

Figure 2

Bar graph showing patient encounters sorted by complication type. Encounters with multiple complications were categorized by the higher-acuity complication. The total number of encounters was 841. ED = emergency department.