Blurred vision most common cause of unscheduled follow-up after intravitreal injections

Blurry vision was the most common reason patients had unscheduled follow-up visits within 7 days of receiving an intravitreal injection, according to a study.

In this retrospective cohort study, data from patients with unscheduled or urgent visits within 7 days of receiving an intravitreal injection, were included.

Of the 73,286 injections included, 441 resulted in urgent follow-up visits (0.60%). Most patients received aflibercept (60.3%), followed by ranibizumab (22.4%), bevacizumab (13.4%), dexamethasone intravitreal implant (2%), triamcinolone acetonide (1.6%) brolucizumab (1.59%), fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant 0.19 mg (0.2%), and fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant 0.18 mg (0.03%).

Aflibercept (42.9%), bevacizumab (37.4%), ranibizumab (7.9%), dexamethasone intravitreal implant (6.8%), brolucizumab (2.7%), and triamcinolone acetonide (2.3%) were associated with urgent visits.

On average there were 3.96 ± 2.14 days between the initial injection and the urgent follow-up visit.

The cause of urgent follow-up visits included:

-Blurred vision (37.2%)
-Flashes, floaters, or posterior vitreous detachment (12.5%)
-Pain (9.5%)
-Corneal abrasions (9.8%)
-Subconjunctival hemorrhages (7.5%)
-Corneal dryness or foreign body sensation (6.6%)
-Endophthalmitis (4.5%)
-Vitreous hemorrhages (4.1%)
-Iritis or uveitis (2.5%)
-Miscellaneous complications (2.0%)
-Elevated intraocular pressures (1.6%)
-Choroidal neovascular membrane (0.9%)
-Retinal detachments or tears (0.9%)
-Traumatic cataracts (0.45%)

Reference
Miller A, Wilneff MA, Yazji A, et al. Analysis of urgent follow up visits and complications after intravitreal injections: a retrospective cohort study. Int J Retina Vitreous. 2022;8(1):8. doi: 10.1186/s40942-021-00358-w. PMID: 35042547.