Efficacy and safety of large-scale use of vancomycin injection in infusion bottle during vitreoretinal procedures.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of large-scale use of vancomycin injection in an infusion bottle during vitreoretinal procedures.

Materials and methods: This was a retrospective evaluation of all vitreoretinal procedures done in the last 70 months, where intraoperatively vancomycin injection (0.2 mg/mL) was used in an infusion bottle prophylactically as standard care. Vitreoretinal procedures were categorized as major (duration >30 min), minor (duration <30 min), and silicone oil removal. Postoperatively, a detailed ocular examination was done to rule out hemorrhagic occlusive retinal vasculitis (HORV) or signs of postoperative bacterial endophthalmitis.

Results: Over the last 70 months, a total of 31,720 vitreoretinal procedures were performed, which included 24,371 major vitreoretinal procedures, 1401 minor vitreoretinal procedures, and 5948 silicone oil removal cases. None of these cases developed HORV or bacterial endophthalmitis.

Conclusion: Vancomycin (0.2 mg/mL) in infusion fluid during vitreoretinal procedures is safe and can be advocated as a prophylactic measure against postvitrectomy bacterial infections.