Trends of Vitreoretinal Surgery in Children

Purpose: We determined the incidence, etiology, and longitudinal trends of vitreoretinal diseases necessitating pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) in the pediatric and adolescent population. Design: This was a nationwide, population-based cohort study, utilizing data from the Korean National Health Claims database spanning from 2009 to 2020. Given the retrospective design of the study and the anonymized nature of the data, the requirement for informed consent was waived. Methods: All pediatric and adolescent patients (under 20 years of age) who underwent PPV across the Korean population were included. The cumulative incidence of PPV was estimated from 2009 to 2020, with 2009 to 2011 as the washout period. The annual trends of PPV incidence, the proportion of each etiology, and comorbidity were estimated based on sex and specific age groups.