Intravitreal injection is the method of administration of drugs into the eye by injection with a fine needle. The medication will be directly applied into the vitreous humor.[1] It is used to treat various eye diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy, and infections inside the eye such as endophthalmitis.[1] As compared to topical administration, this method is beneficial for a more localized delivery of medications to the targeted site, as the needle can directly pass through the anatomical eye barrier (e.g. cornea, conjunctiva and lens) and dynamic barrier (e.g. tears and aqueous humor).[2][3] It could also minimize adverse drug effects on other body tissues via the systemic circulation, which could be a possible risk for intravenous injection of medications.[2][4] Although there are risks of infections or other complications, with suitable precautions throughout the injection process, chances for these complications could be lowered.[5]
- ^ a b "Intravitreal injection: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia". medlineplus.gov. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
:11was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cholkar, Kishore; Dasari, Supriya Reddy; Pal, Dhananjay; Mitra, Ashim K. (2013), "Eye: anatomy, physiology and barriers to drug delivery", Ocular Transporters and Receptors, Elsevier, pp. 1–36, doi:10.1533/9781908818317.1, ISBN 978-1-907568-86-2
- ^ "INTRAVITREAL INJECTIONS INFORMATION | Eye Associates". Retrieved 2020-04-23.
- ^ Artunay, O.; Yuzbasioglu, E.; Rasier, R.; Sengül, A.; Bahcecioglu, H. (2009-02-13). "Incidence and management of acute endophthalmitis after intravitreal bevacizumab (Avastin) injection". Eye. 23 (12): 2187–2193. doi:10.1038/eye.2009.7. ISSN 1476-5454. PMID 19218994.