Risk Factors for Recurrent Vitreous Hemorrhage After 25-Gauge Pars Plana Vitrectomy in Patients With Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy

Bitra, Jyotsna BS
Sureshkumar, Haarisudhan BS
Eathara, Abhijith V. BS
Alahmadi, Reem MD
Heiferman, Michael J. MD

¹Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
²Vitreoretinal Division, King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Michael J. Heiferman, MD, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois College of Medicine, 1855 W Taylor St, M/C 648, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. Email: [email protected]

Journal of VitreoRetinal Diseases 9(5):p 575-583, September/October 2025. | DOI: 10.1177/24741264251351545

Purpose: To report the incidence of and risk factors associated with recurrent vitreous hemorrhage (VH) in eyes that had 25-gauge pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) for proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). Methods: This study included 220 eyes of 185 patients who were 21 years old or older and who had PPV for PDR and a minimum postoperative follow-up of 3 months. For patients who had bilateral PPV, data were gathered from both eyes. If surgery was performed in only 1 eye, data were collected from that eye alone. Results: The incidence of recurrent VH was 34.5% (76 eyes). The VH was categorized as early in 46 eyes (60.5%), delayed in 8 eyes (10.5%), or late in 22 eyes (28.9%). Sixty-eight eyes (89.5%) had mild/moderate recurrent VH and 8 (10.5%) had severe recurrent VH. The mean preoperative fasting blood glucose level was 147.7 mg/dL in eyes without recurrent VH and 176.7 mg/dL in eyes with recurrent VH (P = .020). Younger age (P = .027) and higher diastolic blood pressure at the time of surgery (P = .005) also significantly affected recurrent VH. Conclusions: Younger age, preoperative fasting blood glucose levels, and diastolic blood pressure were significantly associated with recurrent VH after PPV in patients with PDR.