Increasing frequency of hospital admissions for retinal detachment and vitreo-retinal surgery in England 2000–2018

OBJECTIVES: To analyse the changes in reported frequency of retinal detachment admissions and vitreo-retinal surgery procedures performed between 2000 and 2018 in England. To obtain information useful to contribute towards the planning of service delivery. METHODS: Analysis of England’s Hospital Episode Statistics from the Health and Social Care Information Centre and population data from the United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics. RESULTS: Episodes of ‘retinal detachments with breaks’ increased year on year from 3447 (7.0/100 M) in 2000 to 10,971 (19.7/100 M) in 2018 (p < 0.001), whereas records of ‘tractional retinal detachment’ increased from 290 (0.6/100 M) to 910 (1.6/100 M) in the same period (p < 0.0001). The number of reported pars plana vitrectomies irrespective of indication increased over fourfold from 5761 to 26,900 (p < 0.0001), while the number of scleral buckling records decreased by two thirds from 2897 to 780 (p < 0.0001). During the same period, the population of England increased from 49.2 to 55.6 million, proportionally at a slower rate than that for recorded hospital episodes. CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of admissions to hospital for surgically treated retinal detachment seems to have been increasing significantly since 2000. This effect is more marked in cases of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. This may be explained by increased incidence of disease (due to increased rates of cataract surgery, increasing longevity and increasing rates of myopia) as well as repeat surgery in cases of recurrent retinal detachment. Other factors which may play a role include improvements in patient access, increased public awareness and improved local coding and reporting practice.