One-Year Outcome of Conbercept Therapy for Diabetic Macular Edema

Purpose: To evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of conbercept for the treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME) with different baseline visual acuity. Methods: This is a retrospective, comparative study. A total of 107 eyes of 107 patients were included. According to the levels of baseline best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and therapeutic regimen, the DME patients were divided into four groups: conbercept treatment subgroup with worse baseline VA (less than 69 letters, Snellen equivalent, 20/50 or worse; n = 37), untreated subgroup with worse baseline VA(n = 28); conbercept treatment subgroup with better baseline VA (78 to 69 letters, Snellen equivalent, 20/32 to 20/40; n = 25), untreated subgroup (n = 17). Patients received one initial intravitreal injection followed by re-treatments based on BCVA loss or increase of central macular thickness (CMT). Results: At month 12, the mean improvement of BCVA was significantly higher in both worse baseline VA group and better baseline VA group with conbercept treatment than that of corresponding untreated controls:18(15) letters vs. -4(6) letters, P < 0.001; 7(1) letters vs. -5(5) letters; P < 0.001; respectively. At month12 the mean CMT from baseline was significantly declined in both worse baseline VA group and better baseline VA group with conbercept treatment than that of respective untreated controls (-212.8 +/- 11.9 vs.-44.3 +/- 35.3 mu m,P < 0.001; -116.1 +/- 88.9vs.-33.7 +/- 49.8 mu m, P = 0.001; respectively). At the end of twelve month follow-up, the BCVA improvement and CMT declination in worse baseline VA group were more prominent than that in better baseline group (P < 0.001). The mean numbers of injections were 6.7 +/- 0.9, 6.5 +/- 1.1 in worse baseline VA group and better baseline VA group, respectively (P = 0.35). The two groups have no significant difference in the number of injections. Conclusion: Conbercept was effective in the treatment of DME at different levels of baseline BCVA. For worse baseline VA, BCVA improvement was more prominent than that of better VA subgroup.