Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Diabetes. Aug 15, 2023; 14(8): 1271-1279
Published online Aug 15, 2023. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v14.i8.1271
Conbercept combined with laser photocoagulation in the treatment of diabetic macular edema and its influence on intraocular cytokines
Hui-Qin Zhan, Ji-Lin Zhou, Jun Zhang, De Wu, Chun-Yan Gu
Hui-Qin Zhan, Ji-Lin Zhou, Jun Zhang, De Wu, Chun-Yan Gu, Department of Ophthalmology, The Third People’s Hospital of Changzhou, Changzhou 213001, Jiangsu Province, China
Author contributions: Zhan HQ designed and performed the research and wrote the paper; Gu CY designed the research and supervised the report; Zhou JL designed the research and contributed to the analysis; Zhang J and Wu D provided clinical advice.
Supported by the Youth Project of Changzhou Health Commission, No. QN202129.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Third People’s Hospital of Changzhou.
Informed consent statement: This study has obtained informed consent from all patients.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: Does not support sharing data with third parties.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Chun-Yan Gu, MM, Attending Doctor, Department of Ophthalmology, The Third People’s Hospital of Changzhou, No. 300 Lanling North Road, Tianning District, Changzhou 213001, Jiangsu Province, China. gchy0102@126.com
Received: May 31, 2023
Peer-review started: May 31, 2023
First decision: June 14, 2023
Revised: June 19, 2023
Accepted: July 14, 2023
Article in press: July 14, 2023
Published online: August 15, 2023
Processing time: 72 Days and 8.8 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) in China is high, and the base is broad. Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a critical condition affecting the life and health of a nation and its economic development. DR is a common complication of DM.

AIM

To investigate the efficacy of laser photocoagulation combined with intravitreal injection of conbercept for treating macular edema.

METHODS

Overall, 130 patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) hospitalized in The Third People’s Hospital of Changzhou from January 2019 to June 2022 were retrospectively included. According to the treatment plan, 130 patients with DME were categorized into an observation and a control group, with 65 patients in each group. The control group received laser photocoagulation, and the observation group received laser photocoagulation with intravitreal injection of conbercept. Observe changes in vision, cytokines in the eye and so on.

RESULTS

The total efficacy rate in the observation group (93.85%) was higher than that in the control group (78.46%) (P < 0.05). In both groups, the best corrected visual acuity correction effect improved after treatment, and the observation group was superior to the control group (P < 0.05). Retinal thickness and central macular thickness improved after treatment, and the observation group was superior to the control group (P < 0.05). The levels of vascular endothelial growth factor, interleukin-6, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1, and basic fibroblast growth factor in both groups improved after treatment, and the observation group was superior to the control group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

In patients with macular edema, combining laser photocoagulation and intravitreal injections of conbercept for DME is a more effective and safer strategy to improve vision, and lower intraocular cytokine levels.

Keywords: Conbercept; Laser photocoagulation; Diabetes treatment; Diabetic retinopathy; Diabetic macular edema; Intraocular cytokines

Core Tip: This study investigated the efficacy of intravitreal injection of conbercept combined with retinal laser photocoagulation in treating diabetic retinopathy (DR) with macular edema and compared the effectiveness of conbercept injection based on laser photocoagulation in the treatment of DR. It also provides a new scheme for clinical treatment of DR with macular edema. The results showed that intravitreal injection of conbercept combined with laser photocoagulation could be more effective in treating diabetic macular edema, shortening the treatment process, and reducing the level of cytokines in the eye. Thus, this treatment plan warrants further promotion.