Incidence of acute endophthalmitis after intravitreal bevacizumab injection in a tertiary hospital

Abstract

Aims: To investigate the incidence of acute endophthalmitis after intravitreal bevacizumab injections. Methods: Patients who received treatment with intravitreal bevacizumab (1.25 mg/0.05 ml) injections for various indications between November 2020 and March 2022 were included in this retrospective study. The patients were followed up for 4 weeks after the injection in terms of acute endophthalmitis symptoms and signs. Results: Acute endophthalmitis developed in 1 patient after 4593 intravitreal bevacizumab injections were administered to 1427 eyes of 1026 patients, and the incidence was found to be 0.0217%. The patient who developed acute endophthalmitis underwent pars plana vitrectomy and after 3 months, a significant improvement in visual acuity was observed. Conclusion: Development of endophthalmitis postoperatively was found to be moderately low after intravitreal bevacizumab injection. It was concluded that following asepsis rules and optimal bevacizumab preparation conditions could further reduce this.