2018 Consensus Recommendations for Intravitreal Injections: Check it out

Intravitreal injection (IVI) is widely used as the most common intraocular procedure in the treatment of a variety of conditions including age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusion, pathological myopia, uveitis, and many more.

The article which appears in the journal Opthalmologica presents the updated review on IVI epidemiology and techniques. The article highlights the important aspects of pre- and postinjection management by examining the recent literature for evidence-based suggestions providing a standardized and structured approach.

Expert consensus recommendations on intravitreal injections (IVI)

Subject	Recommendations
Clinical setting for IVI	Operating theater, adequate room or in-office setting
Anesthetics	Topical anesthesia No recommendation for a specific substance or technique
Topical antisepsis	Topical administrations of 5% povidone-iodine over at least 30 s into the conjunctival sac. Chlorhexidine for patients with local irritation due to povidone-iodine
Perioperative antibiotics	Not recommended
Pupil dilation	No concluding recommendation, but it might be advisable for beginners in order to be able to immediately examine the retinal vessel perfusion after IVI
Globe softening	No recommendation Might be considered in vulnerable eyes
Lid speculum	Sterile speculum is recommended
Needle gauge and length	30-gauge or thinner needles are recommended for liquid injections whereas larger needles should be used when necessary
Injection location	Inject through the pars plana, between 3.5 and 4 mm from the limbus Switch injection sites if patients receive repeated IVI
Feasibility of bilateral injections	Handle each injection as separate procedure
Gloves/draping	Gloves are recommended Draping may not be essential
Use of facial masks	Face masks recommended

For more reference log on to https://doi.org/10.1159/000486145