Incidence and Clinical Features of Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment After 9,484 Intravitreal Injections by a Single Physician

Abstract

Purpose: To report the incidence of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) following intravitreal injections and describe its clinical features. Methods: The medical records of patients who received intravitreal injections from a single retinal specialist between February 2012 and January 2019 at a tertiary referral-based hospital and who had at least three months of follow-up data were analyzed retrospectively. Results: In total, 9,484 intravitreal injections were performed by a single physician in 1,739 eyes of 1,480 patients during the study period. The mean patient age was 59.7 years at the time of the first injection. Patients received an average of 5.3 injections per eye during a mean follow-up period of 26.3 months. RRD occurred as a complication in only one case for an overall incidence rate of 0.01% per injection and 0.06% per eye. In that specific case, RRD occurred two weeks after an intravitreal injection, and the retina was successfully reattached without recurrence after prompt vitrectomy. Conclusions: The observed incidence rate of RRD after intravitreal injection was extremely low, similar to that reported in previous studies.