Epidemiology, Clinical Features, and Visual Outcomes After Intraocular Foreign Body Removal: An IRIS® Registry...

To describe the epidemiology, clinical features, and visual outcomes after intraocular foreign body (IOFB) removal.

Retrospective multicenter cohort study using data from the American Academy of Ophthalmology IRIS® Registry (Intelligent Research in Sight).

Eyes that underwent IOFB removal between January 2016 and October 2024.

Sociodemographic information, clinical features at presentation, primary surgical procedures, and postoperative complications were summarized. Multivariable linear mixed-effects regression models were employed to investigate predictors of visual outcomes up to 18 months post-IOFB removal.

Epidemiology (including annual incidence rates and associated factors) and clinical characteristics and predictors of visual acuity (VA) up to 18 months after IOFB removal.

A total of 4784 eyes (4684 patients, 70.3% male) with a median age of 55 years at presentation (interquartile range, 36-70) were identified over the study period. Mean annual incidence was estimated at 2.28 per 100 000 patient-years (95% confidence interval, 2.09-2.49) and was independently associated with male sex, race, and rural residence. The most common complications at presentation were retinal detachment (12.5%), cataract (10.5%), vitreous hemorrhage (7.9%), and endophthalmitis (3.9%). Median VA at presentation was 1.24 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (LogMAR) (interquartile range, 0.30-2.30). A significant improvement in VA was seen only from month 2 post-IOFB removal (-0.38 LogMAR; 95% confidence interval, -0.41 to -0.34), with further minor improvements up to month 18 (-0.59 LogMAR; 95% confidence interval, -0.69 to -0.48). After adjusting for relevant covariates, Black or African American race and the presence of endophthalmitis, retinal detachment, or hyphema at baseline were associated with worse visual outcomes. Subgroup analysis of patients who had pre-IOFB VA found that improvement was attenuated for people with pre-IOFB VA worse than 1.0 LogMAR.

These findings offer a real-world benchmark for post-IOFB visual trajectories and outcomes and may support clinicians in prognostication and patient counseling. Further research is needed to investigate the underlying drivers of observed racial disparities to inform equitable care.

Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article.