Abstract
Objective: To compare patients' acceptance of and correlate their pain level for bimanual versus metal speculum fixation in intravitreal injections.
Design: Prospective analysis.
Participants: Seventy-three eyes of 56 patients. Methods: A questionnaire indicating patients' discomfort and pain grading immediately after intravitreal injections using either bimanual fixation or metal speculum fixation (Barraquer Wire Speculum).
Results: Fifty-six patients who underwent intravitreal injections were enrolled in this study for various conditions. Patients' overall pain and discomfort were as follows, right eye - bimanual was 0.3 on our grading scale with a standard deviation of 0.54, right eye - metal was 1.6 on our grading scale with a standard deviation of 1.5, left eye - bimanual was 0.41 on our grading scale with a standard deviation of 0.87, and left eye - metal was 1.91 on our grading scale with a standard deviation of 1.14 (P = 0.003).
Conclusion: Patients who underwent bimanual fixation had a much more comfortable experience with less pain in comparison to patients who underwent metal speculum fixation.