Safety and efficacy of intravitreal conbercept injection after vitrectomy for the treatment of proliferative diabetic retinopathy.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of intravitreal conbercept (a recombinant fusion protein that primarily targets vascular endothelial growth factors) after vitrectomy for the management of proliferative diabetic retinopathy without tractional retinal detachment (TRD).

SUBJECTS/METHODS: Fifty patients with non-clearing vitreous haemorrhage (VH) due to proliferative diabetic retinopathy without TRD were enroled. They were randomly divided into control and treatment groups (25 eyes to each group) after they provided informed consent. The treatment group received intravitreal conbercept (10 mg/mL, 0.5 mg) immediately after surgery, while the control group did not. The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and the central retinal thickness were measured.

RESULTS: There were no significant between-group differences in baseline characteristics (P > 0.05), except in age (P = 0.003). Improvement in BCVA was significantly greater at 1, 4, 12, and 24 weeks post surgery in the treatment group than it was in the control group (P < 0.001). There were more cases in the control group who developed recurrent VH, but the recurrence rate of VH was not significantly different between the two groups at 12 and 24 weeks post surgery (P = 0.192 and  0.103). Central retinal thickness was lower in the treatment group than in the control group at 1 week (P = 0.012), 4 weeks (P = 0.01), 12 weeks (P = 0.001), and 24 weeks (P = 0.004) post surgery, which were statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS: An intravitreal injection of conbercept after vitrectomy improved visual acuity and seemed to reduce the recurrence of VH resulting in prompt visual recovery in the PDR patients.