Assuntos
Inibidores da Angiogênese/administração & dosagem , Implementação de Plano de Saúde/organização & administração , Injeções Intravítreas , Programas Nacionais de Saúde/organização & administração , Profissionais de Enfermagem , Degeneração Macular Exsudativa/tratamento farmacológico , HumanosRESUMO
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to introduce nurse-delivered intravitreal injections to increase medical retina treatment capacity. METHODS: Indemnity, clinical governance, training, planning, and implementation issues were addressed. The outcome measures were patient safety, patient experience, and clinic capacity. RESULTS: No serious vision-threatening complications were recorded in a consecutive series of 4000 nurse-delivered intravitreal injections. A Mann-Whitney test showed a significant increase in intravitreal injections (P=0.003) in the medical retina service after introduction of nurse-delivered intravitreal injections. The majority of patients accepted and were satisfied with a nurse-delivered intravitreal injection. DISCUSSION: Nurse-delivered intravitreal injections appear safe, acceptable to patients, and are an effective means to increase intravitreal injection capacity in medical retina clinics.