{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,17]],"date-time":"2026-06-17T04:54:54Z","timestamp":1781672094388,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":20,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,10]],"date-time":"2026-06-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1781049600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Intravitreal injections (IVI) are widely used for the management of retinal diseases, yet younger adults are underrepresented in clinical trials and real-world reports. Data on the etiologic distribution and treatment patterns of IVI in patients aged \u226450 years remain limited. This study aimed to characterize the indications, treatment strategies, and visual outcomes of IVI in this age group. Material and Methods: Retrospective, single-center observational study including adults aged 18\u201350 years who received IVI between January 2020 and December 2023 at a tertiary referral hospital in Spain. Demographic data, diagnosis, treatment modality, regimen, number of injections and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) were collected. One eye per patient was included for analysis. Visual outcomes were assessed as change in logMAR BCVA between baseline and final follow-up. Results: A total of 122 patients were included. The most frequent indications were diabetic macular edema (29.5%), macular neovascularization of various etiologies (21.3%), retinal vein occlusion (13.9%) and uveitis (9.8%). Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents were used in 80.3% of eyes, corticosteroids in 6.6% and combination therapy in 13.1%. The mean number of injections per patient was 6.0 \u00b1 5.3 over a mean follow-up of 3.0 \u00b1 2.5 years. Overall BCVA improved significantly from 0.50 \u00b1 0.59 to 0.38 \u00b1 0.50 logMAR (p = 0.012). Conclusions: IVI in adults \u2264 50 years is uncommon but encompasses a broad etiologic spectrum. Diabetic macular edema and macular neovascularization of diverse etiologies were the leading indications. Anti-VEGF therapy represented the main treatment modality in this cohort.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm15124508","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,11]],"date-time":"2026-06-11T02:59:31Z","timestamp":1781146771000},"page":"4508","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Intravitreal Therapy in Adults Aged \u226450 Years: Etiologic Spectrum, Treatment Patterns and Visual Outcomes in a Real-World Cohort"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9179-8163","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carmen Ant\u00eda","family":"Rodr\u00edguez-Fern\u00e1ndez","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Ophthalmology Department, Ribera POVISA Hospital, 36211 Vigo, Spain"},{"name":"FarmaChusLab Group, Health Research Institute of Santiago de Compostela (IDIS), 15706 Santiago de Compostela, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0492-8645","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"David","family":"Oliver-Gutierrez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ophthalmology Department, Verte Oftalmolog\u00eda Barcelona, 08006 Barcelona, Spain"},{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, Bellvitge University Hospital, 08907 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-6679-2898","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Albert","family":"Arnaiz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ophthalmology Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d\u2019Hebron, Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona, 08035 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-2842-8351","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tatiana","family":"Pablos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ophthalmology Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d\u2019Hebron, Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona, 08035 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8842-8604","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gloria","family":"Segura-Duch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ophthalmology Department, Verte Oftalmolog\u00eda Barcelona, 08006 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Miguel \u00c1ngel","family":"Zapata","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ophthalmology Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d\u2019Hebron, Universitat Aut\u00f2noma de Barcelona, 08035 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1526","DOI":"10.1038\/eye.2016.202","article-title":"Ranibizumab for the treatment of wet AMD: A summary of real-world studies","volume":"30","author":"Chong","year":"2016","journal-title":"Eye"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"789","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ophtha.2011.12.039","article-title":"Ranibizumab for diabetic macular edema: Results from 2 phase III randomized trials: RISE and RIDE","volume":"119","author":"Nguyen","year":"2012","journal-title":"Ophthalmology"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Yuan, Q., Gao, Y., Liu, Y., Xu, H., Wang, T., and Zhang, M. 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