SynthesisSurvey of ophthalmology
Delayed anti-VEGF injections during the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in visual acuity in patients with three common retinal diseases: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Survey of ophthalmology. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impact of coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on the trends of care-seeking behavior for ocular diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2025Pooled it
- Predictive factors for visual acuity in diabetic macular oedema: lessons for clinical practice learned from deferring intravitreal injections under the COVID-19 pandemic.Eye (London, England) · 2026Article
- Real World Data About the Treatment of Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration in Kuopio University Hospital During 2019-2021 Using a PRN Regimen.Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Article
- Delayed anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and branch retinal vein occlusion-associated macular edema negatively affects visual outcomes.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Article
- Nonadherence to anti-VEGF intravitreal injections in patients with diabetic macular edema : The names of the authors.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2025Review
- Short and long-term impact of intravitreal anti-VEGF therapy interruption in retinal vein occlusion during the COVID-19 pandemic: functional outcomes and AI-based fluid analysis of macular edema.International journal of retina and vitreous · 2025Article
- Clinical and Socioeconomic Burden of Retinal Diseases: Can Biosimilars Add Value? A Narrative Review.Ophthalmology and therapy · 2025Review
- The ambition for a one-and-done vision-saving AAV vector.Molecular therapy. Methods & clinical development · 2025Article
- Economic Assessment in Resource-Constrained Systems: Individual-Level Simulation Model in Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Diabetic Macular Oedema.Ophthalmology and therapy · 2024Article
- Association between time to treatment and outcome in branch retinal vein occlusion.International ophthalmology · 2024Article
- Article
- Intravitreal Injection Planning during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Study of Two Tertiary University Centers in Italy.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the regular injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) in patients with various retinal diseases globally. It is unclear to what extent delayed anti-VEGF injections have worsened patients' visual acuity. We performed a meta-analysis to assess the impact of delayed anti-VEGF injections on the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), retinal vein occlusion (RVO), and diabetic macular edema (DME). We searched four computer databases (EMBASE, MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus) from inception to January 5, 2022. Data were pooled using the random-effects model. Results were reported by less than 4 months and 4 months or longer for the time period between the first injection during the pandemic and the last pre-pandemic injection. All BCVA measures were converted to the logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) for analyses. Among patients who received injections 4 months or longer apart, the mean difference in BCVA was 0.10 logMAR (or 5 ETDRS letters) (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.06∼0.14) for nAMD patients, 0.01 logMAR (or∼ 1 ETDRS letter) (95% CI -0.25∼0.27) for RVO patients, and 0.03 logMAR (or ∼1 ETDRS letters) (95% CI -0.06∼0.11) for DME patients. These results suggest that patients with nAMD needing scheduled anti-VEGF injections may require priority treatment over those with RVO and DME in the event of disturbed anti-VEGF injections from COVID-19 lockdowns or similar scenarios.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.