Demographics and distribution of intravitreal injections in the pediatric age group between 2008 and 2025
AJO International, cilt.3, sa.3, 2026 (Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 3 Sayı: 3
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.ajoint.2026.100282
- Dergi Adı: AJO International
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Scopus
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Aflibercept, Bevacizumab, Dexamethasone implant, Intravitreal injection, Pediatric group, Ranibizumab
- Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Purpose: To evaluate the clinical indications and pharmacologic agents administered intravitreally in the pediatric age group between 2008 and 2025 at a tertiary center. Design: Retrospective observational study. Participants: Patients younger than 18 years who received intravitreal injections between January 1, 2008, and November 30, 2025. The final analytic cohort included 93 patients, 114 treated eyes, and 223 injections with complete and reliable written records. Methods: Electronic medical records were screened to identify pediatric patients who received intravitreal injections during the study period. Written medical records were reviewed to confirm demographic and clinical variables, treatment indications, treated eyes, injection dates, and pharmacologic agents. Etiologic indications were analyzed on a patient basis, whereas pharmacologic-agent distributions were analyzed on an injection basis. The frequency and distribution of indications and pharmacologic agents were analyzed retrospectively. Results: A total of 7,119 patients received 44,041 intravitreal injections. Among those, 107 (1.50%) were in the pediatric age group and received 243 (0.55%) injections. Reliable data were obtained from 114 eyes of 93 patients who received 223 intravitreal injections. Retinopathy of prematurity (n = 24, 25.8%), Coats disease (n = 22, 23.7%), infectious endophthalmitis (n = 16, 17.2%), uveitis (n = 15, 16.1%), choroidal neovascularization (n = 5, 5.4%), retinal angioma (n = 3, 3.2%), and miscellaneous diseases (n=8, 8.6%) were among the diagnoses. Eighty-eight of 223 injections (39.5%) were anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agents (bevacizumab, n=28, 12.6%; ranibizumab, n=37, 16.6%; aflibercept 2 mg, n=23, 10.3%), whereas triamcinolone acetonide and dexamethasone implants were administered 32 (14.3%) and 58 (26.0%) times, respectively. The remaining 45 injections (20.2%) consisted of antimicrobial agents or antimicrobial combination regimens. Conclusion: Pediatric intravitreal injections represented a small proportion of overall intravitreal injection practice at our tertiary referral center. In the screened pediatric cohort, the crude injection burden was 2.27 injections per patient, with a wide spectrum of underlying indications, compared with 6.25 injections per patient in the adult cohort. However, this comparison should be interpreted in the context of distinct indication patterns and should not be considered a direct comparison of treatment intensity.