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World J Clin Pediatr. Sep 9, 2026; 15(3): 118321
Published online Sep 9, 2026. doi: 10.5409/wjcp.118321
Published online Sep 9, 2026. doi: 10.5409/wjcp.118321
Systemic outcomes of anesthesia method in anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy for retinopathy of prematurity: General vs topical
Asaad A Al Habsi, Department of Ophthalmology, Oman Medical Specialty Board, Muscat 123, Oman
Hilal K Al Mandhari, Anuradha S Ganesh, Sana S Al Zuhaibi, Nouf H Al-Farsi, Department of Ophthalmology, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, University Medical City, Muscat 123, Oman
Nasra S Al Habsi, Department of Ophthalmology, Al Nahda Hospital, Ministry of Health, Muscat 123, Oman
Author contributions: Al Habsi AA collected the data, wrote the paper, analyzed the data; Al-Farsi NH formatted the idea, collected the data, analyzed the data, supervised the paper; Al Mandhari HK, Genesh AS, Al Zuhaibi SS, Al Habsi NS reviewed the manuscript; Al Habsi AA data collection, manuscript writing, statistical analysis.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and ethically approved by the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital Review Board and ministry of health-Oman Review Boards.
Informed consent statement: Informed consent was obtained for each participant as part of regular procedure consent (anti-VEGF injection procedure) as per hospital-based protocol.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There was no commercial, personal, political, intellectual, or religious conflict of interest in this study.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: Anonymous data.
Corresponding author: Nouf H Al-Farsi, MD, Chief Physician, FRCS, Department of Ophthalmology, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, University Medical City, P.O. Box 38 P.C. 123 Al-Khoud, Muscat 123, Oman. noufalfarsi@gmail.com
Received: December 29, 2025
Revised: February 6, 2026
Accepted: March 24, 2026
Published online: September 9, 2026
Processing time: 217 Days and 0.5 Hours
Revised: February 6, 2026
Accepted: March 24, 2026
Published online: September 9, 2026
Processing time: 217 Days and 0.5 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: To date, no studies have compared the short-term systemic effects of general anesthesia (GA) in infants undergoing Anti- vascular endothelial growth factor injections vs those treated at bedside with topical anesthesia. This study addressed this gap by retrospectively analyzing outcomes under GA and comparing them to prospective data from bedside procedures under topical anesthesia. Topical anesthesia as compared to GA is associated with a significantly reduced need for oxygen and/or respiratory support within 48 hours post-procedure. In addition, topical anesthesia showed better performance in duration, cost, and surgeon preference.