Results of clinical approbation of information leaflet for patients treated with intravitreal injections of drugs

Intravitreal injection (IVI) is a drug delivery method, widely used in modern ophthalmology. To increase the awareness of patients receiving treatment in the healthcare system of the Russian Federation, the Expert Council on Retinal and Optic Nerve Diseases of the Association of Ophthalmologists, an All-Russian Public Organization in 2020 proposed a leaflet “Intravitreal injections (information for patients)”.

Purpose: to conduct a clinical assessment of the leaflet by multicenter anonymous surveying of patients.

Material and methods. Patients who had experienced IVI treatment were asked to read the leaflet for 20 minutes and then answer 12 questions of the specially designed questionnaire. 93 patients were interviewed in clinics in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk: of these, 57 (61.3%), the average age of all patients was 63.9 years, the most common diagnosis was neovascular age-related macular degeneration (52 cases, 55.9%), the experience of previous treatment ranged from 1 to 104 months.

Results. The leaflet had a positive response from the patients (91.4% of the questionnaires received “excellent” and “good” ratings), 90.3% patients reported that the information contained was fully or largely consistent with their experience of IVI treatment. The overwhelming majority of respondents (88.2%) did not experience any difficulties in reading the leaflet. At the same time, the patients revealed insufficient awareness on issues related to the treatment. Also, the patients showed insufficient awareness of issues concerning their health: only 20 (21.5%) respondents could answer all five questions of the questionnaire about the understanding of the relevant information, and 31 patients (33.3%) could answer four questions. This fact emphasizes the importance of information support for the patient.

Conclusion. The clinical assessment of the leaflet “Intravitreal injections (information for patients)”, which contains brief information about what the procedure is, contraindications, preparation details, symptoms of the postoperative period that require urgent assistance, allows us to recommend the leaflet for use in the clinical healthcare practice of the Russian Federation.

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