Efficient EHR analysis confirms safety of anterior chamber liquid biopsies in intraocular surgery

Anterior chamber liquid biopsies during intraocular surgery are safe, with minimal complications, and free-text electronic health records (EHRs) searches are an efficient method for reviewing these procedures, according to a study.

Conducted as a retrospective case series, the research examined 1418 aqueous humor liquid biopsies performed by 17 experienced surgeons. Using free-text searches in EHRs, researchers identified complications related to anterior chamber paracentesis and subsequent endophthalmitis. The free-text software tools were highly effective, with search results being 100% accurate for surgical complications and over 99% accurate for detecting endophthalmitis. The accuracy for identifying anesthesia type was also high, with more than 93% correctness.

The study found that more than 85% of the biopsies were carried out under local anesthesia without ocular muscle akinesia. While cataract was the most common indication (50.1%), other conditions included glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, uveitis, age-related macular degeneration, endophthalmitis, retinitis pigmentosa, and uveal melanoma.

With a median follow-up period exceeding 7 months, the study reported

There was only 1 minor complication reported during the more than 7 months follow-up—a small tear in Descemet membrane.

Reference
Wolf J, Chemudupati T, Kumar A, et al. Using Electronic Health Record Data to Determine the Safety of Aqueous Humor Liquid Biopsies for Molecular Analyses. Ophthalmol Sci. 2024;4(5):100517. doi: 10.1016/j.xops.2024.100517. PMID: 38881613; PMCID: PMC11179400.