Board-certified providers reduce risk of endophthalmitis after intravitreal injections

Providers who were certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO) were associated with a decreased risk of endophthalmitis after intravitreal injection, according to a study presented at the 2021 ASRS Annual Meeting.

In this study, data from 2,907,324 intravitreal injections performed on 219,640 patients were retrospectively analyzed. Procedures were performed by 4316 ophthalmologists, of which 74% (n = 3196) were retina specialists and 92% (4021) were ABO-certified. There were 1088 (0.037%) cases of postinjection endophthalmitis; 1024 (0.037%) eyes had received injections from certified ophthalmologists and 64 (0.050%) by non-board-certified ophthalmologists.

There were 28% reduced odds of endophthalmitis in patients receiving injections by certified providers, and higher odds of endophthalmitis were observed for corticosteroid injections and aflibercept injections.

Reference
Emerson GC, et al. Board-Certified Providers Are Associated With a Reduced Risk of Endophthalmitis After Intravitreal Injections. Presented at: 2021 ASRS Annual Meeting.