Abstract
Purpose :
Patients who receive IVI have an acute rise in intraocular pressure due to volume expansion. There is currently no evidence on the recommended frequencies for IOP monitoring and glaucoma surveillance in patients who are receiving regular intravitreal injections. To describe the awareness and methods used to monitor glaucoma development or progression in patients receiving intravitreal injection (IVI) in a regional eye clinic in Australia.
Methods :
Retrospective audit was conducted of patients receiving IVI over a 3 week period in a regional eye clinic in Queensland, Australia. Data collected include sex, diabetes status, previous PRP/YAG treatment, indication for IVI, eye injected, glaucoma diagnosis, ocular hypertension (OHT) and glaucoma investigations performed within past 12 months.
Results :
Preliminary results of 79 patients show majority of patients (53%) received IVI therapy for neovascular AMD, 23% for retinal vein occlusions, and 18% for diabetic macula edema. Only 11% have formal diagnosis of glaucoma. Of these, less than half (44%) had intervention post-IVI to alleviate the effect of IOP rise. Whilst all glaucoma patients received OCT RNFL in the past 12 months, less than half (30%) of IVI patients without glaucoma had these scans.
Conclusions :
Glaucoma surveillance was performed in less than half of the patients in this audit. The outcomes highlight the need for increased awareness of glaucoma surveillance in this population of patients. Further research into the relationship between chronic IVI therapy and IOP changes with time will assist in identifying an optimal monitoring strategy for patients who are at higher risk of developing glaucoma.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.