Original ArticleSurvey of intravitreal injection techniques and treatment protocols among retina specialists in Canada
Section snippets
Methods
In August 2012, 120 practicing members of the Canadian Ophthalmological Society who self-categorized as having retina fellowship training and members of the Canada Retina and Vitreous Society were contacted with a confidential, 28-question survey through their listed contact method. Nonresponders were sent repeat emails, faxed surveys, and mailed a copy of the survey along with a prepaid return envelope. A minimum of 4 attempts was made to contact each nonresponder before the study concluded on
Results
There were 80 respondents, giving a response rate of 64%. The response rate was lower in Quebec with 9 of 20 (45%) responding. Five of the respondents indicated they were no longer practicing ophthalmology; they were therefore excluded from further analysis.
Demographics: Forty-four percent of respondents had both an academic and a community practice, 27% had academic only, and 30% had community only. The majority (55%) practiced both medical and surgical retina, whereas 45% practiced medical
Discussion
Several suggested practices guidelines for IVIs have been discussed in recent years.4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 Similar to other recent surveys of IVI technique, we report a wide range of practice patterns in terms of aseptic technique, anaesthetics, antibiotics, postinjection monitoring, and treatment protocol by Canadian retina specialists.11, 12
Conclusion
Our study had an overall response rate of 64%. This compares favourably with recent national surveys of Canadian ophthalmologists regarding DME treatment protocols and cataract surgery practices, as well as the recent U.S. IVI techniques survey.12, 47, 48 A possible limitation, as in any survey, is selection bias in the surgeons who chose to respond.
We demonstrated there are various IVI practice patterns by retina specialists in Canada. Overall, Canadian surgeons’ practice patterns were similar
Disclosure
The authors have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.
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