FRIDAY, March 27, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- New-onset vitreous floaters, with or without flashes, confer an increased risk for retinal detachment (RD), according to a study published in the March issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.
Bart van Zon, M.D., from Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, Netherlands, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study involving adults with new-onset floaters or flashes during 2012 to 2021 to examine the absolute and relative risk associated with RD. A total of 1,181 cases were categorized into floaters, flashes and floaters, and flashes.
The researchers found that the incidence of floaters and flashes was 5.5 and 2.7 per 1,000 patient-years, respectively. The absolute risk for RD was 6.1, 4.7, and 8.4 percent for floaters alone, flashes alone, and floaters and flashes, respectively. Absolute risk was increased in association with acute duration (≤14 days) and with many floaters (defined as ≥10 floaters or a cloud/haze/curtain). Compared with flashes alone, the relative risks were significantly increased for acute floaters and flashes, many floaters, and many floaters and flashes (2.39, 4.20, and 6.20, respectively).
"Our results show that floaters (with or without flashes) represent a clinically relevant risk for RD, especially with a recent (acute) onset or if there are many of them," the authors write. "We recommend urgent referral of these patients to confirm or rule out RD."