Intravitreal Injections and Face Masks: Endophthalmitis Risk Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Purpose: To assess the added risk of acute endophthalmitis after intravitreal injections associated with the widespread use of face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: In this retrospective, single-center study, records of patients with acute endophthalmitis following intravitreal bevacizum...

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Veröffentlicht in:Journal of ophthalmic & vision research 2023-07, Vol.18 (3), p.283-288
Hauptverfasser: Karimi, Saeed, Nikkhah, Homayoun, Mohammadzadeh, Amir, Ramezani, Alireza, Ansari, Iman, Nouri, Hosein, Abtahi, Seyed-Hossein
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:Purpose: To assess the added risk of acute endophthalmitis after intravitreal injections associated with the widespread use of face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: In this retrospective, single-center study, records of patients with acute endophthalmitis following intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) injections during the pre-COVID era—that is, March 1st , 2013 to October 31st, 2019 —and the COVID-19 era—that is, March 1st, 2020 to April 1st, 2021 —were reviewed and compared. Results: A total of 28,085 IVB injections were performed during the pre-COVID era; nine eyes of nine patients developed acute post-IVB endophthalmitis in this era, giving an overall incidence of 0.032% (3.2 in 10,000 injections). In the COVID era, 10,717 IVB injections were performed; four eyes of four patients developed acute post-IVB endophthalmitis in this era, giving an overall incidence of 0.037% (3.7 in 10,000 injections). The incidences of post-IVB endophthalmitis during these two eras were not statistically significantly different (P = 0.779). Conclusion: Face masking protocols seem unlikely to impose any additional risk of post-IVB endophthalmitis.
ISSN:2008-2010
2008-322X
DOI:10.18502/jovr.v18i3.13776