Nurses Help More Patients Receive Treatment for AMD

Newswise — Denver, Colo. – Nurses trained to deliver eye injections for patients with the wet form of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) administered the treatments as safely and effectively as doctors, according to a new study. The research is being presented at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) this week in Denver, Colo.

Researchers from the United Kingdom found that patients had the same rates of eye infection, a rare complication of the treatment, regardless of whether the treatment was delivered by a doctor or nurse.

Eye injections of medication have revolutionized the treatment of blinding eye diseases, including wet AMD and diabetic macular edema. Training nurses to supplement the treatments delivered by physicians allows more patients to safely receive these effective therapies.

Abstract Title: Postoperative endophthalmitis after intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) injections: incidence and associated factors, including nurse injectors in a series of 31,561 casesPresentation Start/End Time: Wednesday, May 6, 8:30 – 10:15am Location: Exhibit HallAbstract Number: 4168 - C0051

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The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) is the largest eye and vision research organization in the world. Members include nearly 12,000 eye and vision researchers from over 75 countries. ARVO advances research worldwide into understanding the visual system and preventing, treating and curing its disorders.

All abstracts accepted for presentation at the ARVO Annual Meeting represent previously unpublished data and conclusions. This research may be proprietary or may have been submitted for journal publication. Embargo policy: Journalists must seek approval from the presenter(s) before reporting data from paper or poster presentations. Press releases or stories on information presented at the ARVO Annual Meeting may not be released or published until the conclusion of the presentation.