Pars plana vitrectomy assisted by intravitreal injection of conbercept enhances the therapeutic effect and quality of life in patients with severe proliferative diabetic retinopathy

Qin Wang; Hui Cai; Dahua Xu; Lin Cui; Yan Zhang; Mei Chen

Pars plana vitrectomy assisted by intravitreal injection of conbercept enhances the therapeutic effect and quality of life in patients with severe proliferative diabetic retinopathy

Am J Transl Res. 2022 Feb 15;14(2):1324-1331. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Qin Wang¹, Hui Cai², Dahua Xu³, Lin Cui¹, Yan Zhang⁴, Mei Chen¹

Affiliations

¹ Chongqing Aier Eye Hospital Chongqing 400020, Chongqing, China.
² Department of Oncology, Fengdu People's Hospital of Chongqing Chongqing 408020, China.
³ College of Eye Sciences, Central South University Changsha 410015, Hunan, China.
⁴ Department of Ophthalmology, Dazhou Central Hospital Dazhou 635000, Sichuan, China.

PMID: 35273734
PMCID: PMC8902581

Abstract

Objective: To explore the application value of intravitreal injection of Conbercept (IVC)-assisted pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) in patients with severe proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR).

Methods: Forty-eight patients with severe PDR who underwent surgical treatment in Chongqing Aier Eye Hospital between October 2019 and June 2021 were retrospectively enrolled, and their clinical data were analyzed. Of them, 22 patients receiving PPV alone were assigned to the PPV group, and the remaining 26 patients treated with IVC-assisted PPV were included in the PPV+IVC group. The intra-operative indicators, postoperative complication rate, visual acuity (VA) improvement, and postoperative quality of life (QoL) were compared between the two groups. The levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), placental growth factor (PIGF), and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in aqueous humor (AH) as well as serum contents of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were determined by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA).

Results: Compared to the PPV group, the operation time of the PPV+IVC group was significantly shorter, and the incidence of severe intraoperative blood loss (IBL), bipolar electrocoagulation hemostasis, iatrogenic retinal breaks (IRBs), postoperative silicone oil tamponade (SOT), and overall complications were significantly reduced. After surgery, the central macular thickness (CMT) was lower and the best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) assessed by the standard visual acuity chart and VA were significantly more improved in the PPV+IVC group versus the PPV group. After the use of Conbercept, the AH levels of VEGF, PIGF, and bFGF in the PPV+IVC group decreased and were significantly lower than those in the PPV group. The PPV+IVC group also showed lower serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β than the PPV group.

Conclusions: IVC-assisted PPV can effectively reduce the difficulty of surgical treatment for PDR, better improve the postoperative VA of patients, and reduce inflammation with fewer complications.

Keywords: Conbercept; VEGF; pars plana vitrectomy; proliferative diabetic retinopathy.