The Effectiveness and Safety of Intravitreal Injections of Voriconazole in the Treatment of Fungal Endophthalmitis: A Systematic Review.

Abstract

Background: Fungus endophthalmitis is a rare and serious infection that is treated with systemic and topical antifungal drugs. There is no clear consensus on the treatment of fungal endophthalmitis with intravitreal injections (IVIs) of voriconazole. This systematic review aims to summarize the literature on IVIs of voriconazole for fungal endophthalmitis. Methods: We conducted a systematic review of the literature to determine the effectiveness and safety of IVIs of voriconazole in the treatment of fungal endophthalmitis. We searched databases such as PubMed and Embase using the following search terms "Endophthalmitis" AND "Intravitreal Injections" AND "Voriconazole" with date limits of January 1, 1900, to December 31, 2022. We included all reports on humans, which described clinical outcomes of IVIs of voriconazole in the treatment of fungal endophthalmitis, including randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and case series. A descriptive synthesis of the data was conducted with a pooling of data for interventions. Results: One RCT and 21 retrospective studies were analyzed in this review. In these reports, a wide range of heterogeneous treatment regimens was used, including IVI in combination with other drugs, systemic therapy in combination with other agents, and surgery. Combined with other treatments, intravitreal voriconazole results in a favorable anatomical and clinical cure that was well tolerated. Conclusions: Reports on IVIs of voriconazole for fungal endophthalmitis demonstrate a heterogeneous approach to treatment. Of these, IVIs of voriconazole in anatomical and clinical outcomes appeared to be highly effective, although more data on its safety are needed.