Aims: Despite their overall favourable safety profile, the intraocular
pressure increases after any routes of triamcinolone acetonide
application are not rare. We designed a systematic review and network
meta-analysis to compare risk of IOP elevation among TA for different
routes of administration used by patients diagnosed with macular edema.
Methods: We obtained data from the PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane
Library. We performed random-effects model and consistency model network
meta-analyses to summarize the evidence. The Bayesian approach was used
for direct and indirect comparisons, and the treatments were ranked by
the surface under the cumulative ranking curve. The study was registered
with PROSPERO, CRD42022366513 Results: Sixteen studies were included in
the network meta-analysis. There was a significant difference in IOP
between IVTA and STiTA (MD, 1.67 [95% CrI, 0.25, 3.15]) at the 12th
week. At the 24th week, compared with the placebo group, IVTA, SCTA and
STiTA had statistically significant effect on IOP (MD, 1.35 [95% CrI,
0.23, 2.30], 2.42 [95% CrI, 4.53, 0.19], and 1.31 [95% CrI,
2.49, 0.02]). The probabilities of rankings and SUCRA showed that IVTA
and SCTA were generally considered the higher risk of IOP elevation than
the other routes of injection therapy. In addition, RITA was shown to be
safer. Conclusion: IVTA and SCTA appeared as the least safe routes of
injection therapy for ME, which being more prone to increase the risk of
IOP elevation. RITA demonstrated a safer profile. However, more
high-quality randomized controlled trials will be necessary to further
confirm this.