ABSTRACT
Purpose: To confirm the therapeutic efficacy of conbercept for the treatment of macular edema (ME) secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO).
Methods: In this prospective, randomized, and comparative study, patients were randomized and divided into conbercept (n = 18) and ranibizumab (n = 17) groups. After an initial intravitreal injection of either conbercept or ranibizumab, a pro re nata (PRN) strategy was adopted based on loss of visual acuity (VA) or increase in central macular thickness (CMT).
Results: All patients were followed for ≥6 months. Baseline best-corrected visual acuities (BCVAs) were 0.67 ± 0.37 and 0.511 ± 0.23 logMAR in the conbercept and ranibizumab groups, respectively (p = 0.087, t-test). Baseline CMTs were 512.5 ± 115.22 and 491.23 ± 114.72 µm in the conbercept and ranibizumab groups, respectively (p = 0.993, t-test). Significant improvements in BCVA and reduction of CMT were observed in both groups at each follow-up visit and compared to baseline values (p < 0.05, t-test). No significant differences in improvement of BCVA (p > 0.05, t-test) or reduction of CMT (p > 0.05, t-test) were noted in either group. Mean numbers of injections were 2.28 ± 0.96 and 2.65 ± 1.17 for the conbercept and ranibizumab groups, respectively (p = 0.478, t-test), with no statistically significant differences between the two groups.
Conclusion: Intravitreal injection of conbercept is shown to be safe and effective for the treatment of ME secondary to BRVO, based on 6-month follow-up data.
Declaration of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.
Funding
This research was funded by Shandong Nature Science Foundation (ZR2015HM026)