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. 2021 Aug;69(8):2158-2163.
doi: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_200_21.

Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor in the management of retinopathy of prematurity: A survey among the members of Indian Retinopathy of Prematurity Society

Anil Gangwe  1 , Deepanshu Agrawal  1 , Anand Vinekar  2 , Raj V Azad  3 , Swapnil M Parchand  1 , Deepshikha Agrawal  4
Affiliations

Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor in the management of retinopathy of prematurity: A survey among the members of Indian Retinopathy of Prematurity Society

Anil Gangwe et al. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2021 Aug.

Abstract

Purpose: To report the results of the survey for the role of anti-VEGF in the management of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) among the members of Indian ROP (iROP) society.

Methods: A questionnaire was designed in English using Google forms and its link was circulated to the members of the iROP society on their mobile numbers. The survey included questions pertaining to demographics, anti-VEGF agents, injection technique, post-injection follow-up, and documentation pertaining to their ROP practice. Anonymous responses were obtained and analyzed for individual questions.

Results: 226 members of the society were contacted and 157 responded (69.4%) to the survey. 137 (87.2%) respondents used anti-VEGF in the management of ROP. Aggressive posterior ROP (APROP) was the most common indication (78, 52.7%). The procedure was carried out in the main operation room (102, 70.3%) simultaneously for both the eyes (97; 68%) under topical anesthesia (134; 86.4%) by most of the respondents. One-hundred thirteen (77.9%) respondents used half of the adult dose, irrespective of the agent used; however, more than half of them preferred bevacizumab (85, 54%). 53 (36.3%) respondents followed up infants as per disease severity rather than a fixed schedule while only 33 (23%) performed photo documentation. 151 (96.2%) respondents felt the need for guidelines regarding the usage of anti-VEGF in ROP.

Conclusion: There is an increase in the trend towards the use of anti-VEGF in the management of severe ROP, particularly APROP. However, there are considerable variations among the ROP practitioners regarding the agent, dosage, follow-up schedule, and documentation, suggesting the need for uniform guidelines.

Keywords: Anti-VEGF; India; retinopathy of prematurity; survey.

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Conflict of interest statement

None

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a-d): Indication, anesthetic agent, site for carrying out procedure, eye to be injected; among the respondents. (a): Indications for the use of anti-VEGF in retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). (b): Type of anesthesia preferred for the anti-VEGF injection. (c): Procedure site for the procedure. (d): Protocol for injecting anti-VEGF
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a-d): Preferred agent, dose, distance from limbus, follow-up schedule; among the respondents. (a): Anti-VEGF of choice for the treatment of ROP. (b): Preferred dose of anti-VEGF. (c): Distance from the limbus for injecting anti-VEGF. (d): Follow-up schedule post-injection
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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