Journal
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF OPHTHALMOLOGY
Volume 149, Issue 3, Pages 433-440Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajo.2009.10.019
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Funding
- NEI NIH HHS [R01 EY007366-22S1, R01 EY007366, EY07366] Funding Source: Medline
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PURPOSE: To review the cases of viral retinitis after intravitreal steroid administration at a single center, to estimate the incidence, and to propose risk factors for its occurrence. DESIGN: Retrospective, observational case series. METHODS: Seven hundred thirty-six intravitreal triamcinolone (IVTA) injections were administered in the clinic and operating room by 3 retina specialists at a single academic medical center between September 2002 and November 2008. Inclusion criteria were simply a history of 1 or more IVTA injections during the period. The overall incidence of viral retinitis after IVTA injection was calculated. Subsequently, a chart audit was performed to estimate the number of patients with immune-altering conditions who had received IVTA during the period, and the incidence within this subgroup was calculated. RESULTS: Viral retinitis developed after IVTA injection in 3 patients, yielding an overall incidence of 3 in 736 or 0.41%. An estimated 334 injections were administered to patients with an immune-altering condition, including diabetes. All 3 of the patients in whom viral retinitis developed after IVTA injection possessed abnormal immune systems, yielding an incidence rate of 3 in 334 or 0.90% within this subgroup. CONCLUSIONS: Our high reported incidence for this potentially devastating complication can be attributed to multiple factors, including coexisting medical immuno-compromising comorbidities, a higher dose with a longer duration of local immunosuppression in the vitreous, multiple injections, as well as previous viral retinitis. Caution with a high index of clinical suspicion and frequent follow-up is advised in patients receiving IVTA injection with potentially immune-altering conditions, even after apparent immune recovery. (Am J Ophthalmol 2010;149:433-440. (C) 2010 by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
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