Vitreous cavity injection is an important treatment for diabetic macular edema, but when it comes to injecting drugs into the eye, there is no shortage of fear and worry in the minds of patients. So, what are the risks of intravitreal injection?
The biggest risk of intraocular injection is the occurrence of endophthalmitis, which is the most serious complication and the most worrying problem for doctors and patients. No matter what kind of drug is injected, after all, the needle is stuck from the outside of the eye to the inside of the eye, and it is possible to bring bacteria into the eye during this process, but how great is the risk of endophthalmitis? Currently, literature reports show that the incidence of endophthalmitis caused by injections is lower than that of other intraocular surgeries (such as cataract surgery), as there is only one needle eye for intraocular drug injections, which is not as damaging as a surgical incision.
Even though the incidence of endophthalmitis is very low, because the consequences are so serious, doctors still take several approaches to prevent it.
First, preoperative prophylactic use of antibiotic eye drops; second, strict intraoperative disinfection and aseptic operation throughout to reduce the source of infection. In addition, the use of postoperative antibiotic eye drops is also an important method of defense.
Vitreous cavity injection in ophthalmology needs to be performed in the operating room, and disinfection and injection are performed in strict accordance with the standards of internal eye surgery to minimize the possibility of endophthalmitis.
There is also a risk of intraocular hemorrhage from vitreous cavity injections, which may cause vitreous cavity hemorrhage and result in retinal detachment, etc. The incidence of these complications is, of course, very low. And, even if a vitreous hemorrhage does occur, the doctor will promptly treat it and follow the treatment of vitreous hemorrhage, either with medication or surgery to remove the accumulated blood.
It is important to note that unlike anti-VEGF drugs, hormones have a somewhat higher risk of infection after hormone injections. Because hormones are immunosuppressants, reducing macular edema at the same time makes the immunity in the eye lower. In addition, repeated injections of hormones in the eye can cause an increase in intraocular pressure, which can easily lead to problems such as glaucoma and cataracts, which are side effects of hormones. Because of this, hormones must be chosen at the right dose and frequency of injection, and should not be over-injected.