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. 2024 Sep 18;17(9):1717-1722.
doi: 10.18240/ijo.2024.09.20. eCollection 2024.

Intravitreal injection practice patterns among Chinese ophthalmologists

Li Su  1   2   3 , Yin-Chen Shen  1   2   3 , Hong Li  4 , Bo Mou  4 , Kun Liu  1   2   3 , Xun Xu  1   2   3
Affiliations

Intravitreal injection practice patterns among Chinese ophthalmologists

Li Su et al. Int J Ophthalmol. .

Abstract

Aim: To describe the practice patterns of intravitreal injections (IVIs) among ophthalmologists in China.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional online survey. Ophthalmologists who had performed accumulated more than 100 injections were contacted by the Brightness Center, a hospital-based national network, to complete an anonymous, 24-question, internet-based survey. They were surveyed on practices in injection techniques, pre-, and post-injections procedures.

Results: A total of 333 ophthalmologists from 28 provinces/municipalities/autonomous regions responded to the survey (50.68% response rate). The 91.29% of the respondents evaluated systemic risk factors by medical history, electrocardiogram (ECG) and blood test. All the respondents used pre-injection prophylactic antibiotics. Most checked intraocular pressure (IOP, 99.1%) and blood pressure (96.1%) before injections. A majority of the respondents performed injections in the operating room (98.8%), wore masks (99.7%), gloves (99.4%) and sterile surgical clothing (96.1%), performed topical anesthetics (97.9%), and applied povidone-iodine (95.8%) pre-injection. The 61.26% of the respondents dilated pupil. About half of the respondents (51.05%) performed bilateral injections in the same setting. Superior temporal quadrant (40.54%) was the most frequent site of injection. Around three quarters used 30-gauge needles. Most respondents (97.9%) measured the site of injection from limbus. More than half (53.45%) performed conjunctiva displacement prior to injection. The 32.43% of the respondents checked IOP post-injection and 87.99% physicians checked hand motion (HM) or counting fingers (CF) after injection, while 36.94% observed optic nerve perfusion. All participants used topical antibiotics post-injections. Most physicians (91.89%) reviewed patients on the following day.

Conclusion: This study provides a description of the real-world practice patterns in IVIs in China and offers critical information regarding education and training of ophthalmologists and amendment of local society guidelines.

Keywords: Chinese ophthalmologists; intravitreal injections; practice pattern; topical antibiotics.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: Su L, None; Shen YC, None; Li H, None; Mou B, None; Liu K, None; Xu X, None.

References

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