Glove use does not impact post-injection endophthalmitis but affects carbon footprint
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Wearing gloves for intravitreal injections does not decrease the risk for endophthalmitis but does take up time and has a significant carbon footprint, according to a study.
Researchers conducted a retrospective chart review of 2023 data from 19 retina specialists in a single practice and included only anti-VEGF injections.
“We also collected physician injection practices that we compared, including physician masking, use of a speculum, the injection quadrant and antisepsis, and we also timed physicians for gloves,” David Anderson, MD, PharmD, of Retina Consultants of Minnesota, said at the American Society of Retina Specialists annual meeting.
The total number of injections was 120,373 over the course of the year. Twelve of 19 physicians used gloves, accounting for a 63% rate of glove use, which is in line with the 58% rate of glove use reported for U.S. retina physicians when performing the procedure, Anderson said
“Twenty cases of endophthalmitis were recorded, 12 in the non-gloved and eight in the gloved groups. While there was a lesser number of events in the gloved group, regression analysis did not show any difference in statistical significance,” he said.
However, time spent donning gloves amounted to about 290 hours, and the carbon footprint was about 2,000 tons of CO2 equivalent annually, equivalent to running a gasoline engine in a car for 5 years. The use of gloves during intravitreal injections varies among retina specialists, with 58%, 39% and 91% reporting glove use during injections in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, respectively.
“For upwards of 7 million injections annually, you can see how there could be a big carbon footprint. There is significant productivity consumed in the use of donning gloves,” Anderson said. “I think it's appropriate to consider scrutinizing even small steps like the use of glove wear.”
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Anderson D, et al. Post-injection endophthalmitis rates comparing non-sterile glove use to no glove use in 2023. Presented at: American Society of Retina Specialists annual meeting; July 17-20, 2024; Stockholm.
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