Effects of Intravitreal Injection on Ocular Surface and Anterior Segment Parameters

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to investigate the long-term effects of intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections on ocular surface and anterior segment parameters. A comparison was performed of the treated eye and the fellow healthy eye. METHODS: The study group included patients who had received at least 3 intravitreal injections of anti-VEGF agents (bevacizumab, ranibizumab, or aflibercept) for retinal vascular disorders. All of the subjects were treated in only 1 eye. A complete ophthalmological examination, including evaluation of tear break-up time (TBUT), the Schirmer 1 test, the Oxford Grading Scale, and the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire, corneal topography, and specular microscopy were performed in both eyes 1 month after the last injection. RESULTS: In this study, 49 eyes of 49 patients who underwent regular intravitreal injection in 1 eye were enrolled. The mean age was 63.85±9.8 years (range: 29-86 years). A mean of 4.06±1.7 (range: 3-11) injections were administered. There was no significant difference in the intraocular pressure, TBUT, Schirmer 1, fluorescein staining, or specular microscopy parameters (p>0.05). The mean non-invasive TBUT first and average values; the central, thinnest, and apex corneal thickness measurements; the anterior chamber depth, irido-corneal angle, corneal volume, and keratometry values were similar in each individual (p>0.05 for all parameters). The mean OSDI score was 27.5±17.6 for the injected eyes and 15.9±12.9 for the non-injected eyes (p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: Intravitreal anti-VEGF injections had no effect on ocular surface, corneal endothe-lium, and anterior segment parameters.