Saving the sight of millions

Two eye surgeons (ophthalmologists) have written a first-of-its-kind book to save the sight of millions of patients around the world by making eye injections (intravitreal injections) safe and comfortable.

Worldwide, over 12 million intravitreal injections are delivered for sight-threatening conditions such as age-related macular degeneration, retinal vein occlusions and diabetic retinopathy. Fundamentals of Intravitreal Injections: A Guide for Ophthalmic Nurse Practitioners and Allied Health Professionals provides a unique insight into safe and comfortable delivery of these, thereby ensuring preservation of precious vision for thousands.

Age-related macular degeneration is one of the commonest causes of visual impairment registration internationally. Intravitreal injections (injections into the vitreous gel of the eye) of anti-vascular endothelial growth factors (Anti-VEGF's) such as Lucentis (ranibizumab), Avastin (bevacizumab) and Eylea (aflibercept) are now widely accepted to reduce the progression of "wet" macular degeneration.

There is also good evidence of their efficacy in macular oedema secondary to diabetes and vein occlusions. Ophthalmic Nurse Practitioners and Allied Health Professionals are increasingly becoming invaluable team members for delivering intravitreal injections, particularly as the clinical demand increases. This book has been written to aid the practitioners in such an endeavour and will provide concise but relevant information in a format that is easy to carry around and access.

Towards the end, the authors outline their experience with designing a training structure and in organising wetlab sessions for both ophthalmic trainees and nurse practitioners, including some easy tips for readers to set up a session of their own. The appendices contain the latest information on Basic Life Support and anaphylaxis treatment.

The book is aimed primarily at nurse practitioners and allied health professionals, but it will also be a useful reference for junior ophthalmic trainees learning how to perform intravitreal injections. Ophthalmologist Peter Simcock describes the work as "A timely and well-written wealth of information for ophthalmic nurse practitioners which will also be useful for ophthalmologists in training," while nurse practitioner Alison Triggol calls it "A very worthy teaching aid for all new practitioners taking on the role, with clear and concise descriptive text and explanatory imagery."