Comparison of postoperative recovery of primary pterygium excision combined with either limbal stem cell transplantation or amniotic membrane transplantation: a randomized controlled trial-based meta-analysis

Chuan-Jie Yin; Yin-Lei Bao; Qi-Chen Zhang; Sui-Fang Kang; Guo-Ling Chen

Comparison of postoperative recovery of primary pterygium excision combined with either limbal stem cell transplantation or amniotic membrane transplantation: a randomized controlled trial-based meta-analysis

Am J Transl Res. 2023 Feb 15;15(2):641-652. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Chuan-Jie Yin¹, Yin-Lei Bao², Qi-Chen Zhang¹, Sui-Fang Kang¹, Guo-Ling Chen¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ophthalmology, The Second Hospital of Shandong University Jinan 250033, Shandong, China.
² Department of Ophthalmology, Linyi People's Hospital Linyi 276000, Shandong, China.

PMID: 36915777
PMCID: PMC10006757

Abstract

Objective: To compare the postoperative recovery of primary pterygium excision combined with either limbal stem cell transplantation (LSCT) or amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT).

Methods: All relevant studies on the primary pterygium excision combined with either LSCT or AMT conducted before August 2022 were extracted from PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases. The main outcomes compared were tear film stability at 1, 3, and 6 months after surgery, postoperative corneal epithelial healing time, recurrence rate, and complications.

Results: Sixteen randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with 1390 eye cases were included in this meta-analysis. We found that patients of the AMT group improved significantly in the results of the tear break-up time (BUT) and Schirmer I test at 1 month after surgery (BUT: MD=-0.37, 95% CI: -0.62, -0.12, P<0.05; Schirmer I test: MD=-0.32, 95% CI: -0.57, -0.07, P<0.05) compared with those of the LSCT group, suggesting that the early stage of tear film stability after primary pterygium excision combined with AMT was superior to the LSCT combination. However, according to the Schirmer I test result, the patients in the LSCT group showed increased tear production compared to the AMT group at 3 and 6 months after surgery (3 months: MD=0.36, 95% CI: 0.08, 0.64, P<0.05; 6 months: MD=0.33, 95% CI: 0.07, 0.60, P<0.05), suggesting that the LSCT combination was superior to the AMT combination in long-term postoperative tear film stability. As for postoperative corneal epithelial healing time, the LSCT group exhibited shorter time than the AMT group (MD=-1.17, 95% CI: -2.15, -0.19, P<0.05). Furthermore, the recurrence rate was lower in the LSCT group than in the AMT group (RR=0.42, 95% CI: 0.30, 0.59, P<0.05). Lastly, there was no statistical difference in BUT and complication rate at 3 and 6 months after surgery between the LSCT and AMT groups.

Conclusions: Our analysis suggests that primary pterygium excision combined with LSCT may be a better choice compared to the combination with AMT in postoperative recovery.

Keywords: Pterygium; complication rate; corneal epithelial healing time; meta-analysis; recurrence rate; tear film.

Publication types

Review