Assessment of novel guarded needle to increase patient comfort and decrease injection time during intravitreal injection.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether a novel guarded 33-gauge injection device can make the intravitreal injection procedure faster and more comfortable for patients.


METHODS
Single-center, prospective, randomized interventional study. Seventy participants receiving bilateral injections on the same day had one eye injected with the 33-gauge injection device without a speculum and the other eye injected with a standard 30-gauge needle using a speculum. Length of time needed for the injection procedure was assessed, and subjects were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding their comfort level with each device during the injection procedure as well as immediately after, later that evening, and the next day.


RESULTS
Intravitreal injections using the 33-gauge injection device were significantly faster, but there was no significant difference in the incidence or levels of pain between the two needle types.


CONCLUSIONS
The 33-gauge injection device may offer advantages over a standard 30-gauge needle when performing an intravitreal injection.
Alexander M
AM
Eaton
Gabriel M
GM
Gordon
Hussein
H
Wafapoor
Adam
A
Sgarlata
Robert L
RL
Avery
D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D058449:Intravitreal Injections / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000592:standards; D009339:Needles; D059408:Pain Management / Q000379:methods*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors