Potential bias of preoperative intravitreal anti-VEGF injection for complications of proliferative diabetic retinopathy

Intravitreal anti-VEGF injection (IVI) is administered before vitrectomy to assist management of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR)-related complications. In the clinical setting, retinal surgeons determine the use of preoperative IVI based on individual criteria. In this study, we investigated factors related to the potential bias of retinal surgeons in using IVI prior to vitrectomy for PDR-related complications, and evaluated the real-world outcomes of surgeon-determined preoperative IVI. Medical records of 409 eyes of 409 patients who underwent 25-gauge vitrectomy for PDR complications at seven Japanese centers (22 surgeons) were retrospectively reviewed. Ocular factors, demographic and general clinical factors, surgical procedures, and postoperative complications were compared between IVI group (patients who received preoperative IVI; 87 eyes, 21.3%) and non-IVI group (patients who did not receive preoperative IVI; 322 eyes, 78.7%). In addition, baseline HbA1c in IVI group and non-IVI group was compared between eyes with and without postoperative complications. At baseline, IVI group was younger (P