Safety Evaluation of Bilateral Same-Day Intravitreal Injection of Faricimab

Intravitreal injection of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents is the most commonly performed ophthalmic procedure. Many retinal specialists routinely perform same-day bilateral intravitreal anti-VEGF injections, in order to reduce the burden to patient and clinic time. There are several reports demonstrating the safety of bilateral same-day treatment with ranibizumab, bevacizumab, and aflibercept, but currently, there are no reports regarding faricimab. The purpose of this study is to report safety outcomes in a cohort of patients who received bilateral same-day faricimab intravitreal injections.

This is a retrospective observational study that included patients who received bilateral same-day faricimab and had a follow-up of at least 6 months. All patients were treated by 4 monthly faricimab injections as a loading dose and subsequently followed up at monthly intervals. All intravitreal injections were done in a sterile room and the second injection was treated as a separate procedure.

One hundred eyes from 50 patients were included in the study. The mean follow-up period was 7 months, during which a total of 487 intravitreal injections of faricimab were done. During the follow-up period, five patients (10%) presented with minor ophthalmic issues. There were no cases of endophthalmitis and no patients reported a cerebrovascular, cardiovascular, or thromboembolic event.

Our study showed that bilateral same-day intravitreal injection of faricimab appeared to be well tolerated in this limited cohort and is the preferred approach in our practice. Larger studies with longer follow-up will be required in order to support our findings.