Disposable eyelid speculum designed for intravitreal injection.

摘要

Intravitreal drug injection has been increasing dramatically. The antivascular endothelial growth factor drugs, which are used as the firstline treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration, require repeated injections to maintain their effectiveness. The injections are usually administered in the office to avoid missing the best treatment interval. Endoph-thalmitis is rare, but it is a serious complication after intravitreal injection. The major cause is considered to be the bacterial contamination from the ocular surface, eyelids, or eyelashes via the injection needle. Meticulous draping of the eyelids may reduce the risk of endophthalmitis, but that is not realistic because of the large number of intravitreal injections administered. Actually, some cases of endophthalmitis were associated with the failure to use an eyelid speculum. We introduce a new disposable plastic eyelid speculum EzSpec (Hoya Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) with broader plates holding the eyelids to facilitate intravitreal injection.