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Retrospective study of aflibercept in combination therapy for high-risk proliferative diabetic retinopathy and diabetic maculopathy

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Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate whether anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy combined with panretinal photocoagulation could reverse diabetic retinopathy (DR).

Method

Fifty-two patients (72 eyes) with high-risk proliferative DR who were diagnosed and treated from June 2018 to May 2019 were divided into the laser group (16 cases, 32 eyes) and combination group (36 cases, 40 eyes) according to a review of the medical records.

Results

Within-group comparison: There were no significant differences in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central foveal thickness (CFT), and microaneurysms in the laser group before and after treatment, but there were statistically significant improvements in the combination group. After the treatment, the BCVA of the patients in the combination group was 0.44 ± 0.17, which was significantly better than 0.70 ± 0.18 before treatment; the CFT after treatment was 266.51 ± 33.28 μm, which was significantly lower than 382.37 ± 54.03 μm at baseline; the MA after treatment was 56.12 ± 23.29, which was significantly lower than 121.44 ± 40.35. There was a statistically significant decrease in hard exudates area in both two groups before and after treatment. Comparison between groups: The difference in BCVA, CFT, MA and between the two groups was statistically significant (all P < 0.05), and the area of retinal neovascularization between the two groups was no significant difference, but decreased more rapidly in the combination group than that in the laser group.

Conclusion

Using intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF drugs combined with panretinal photocoagulation to treat DR might morphologically and functionally reverse retinal changes caused by diabetes mellitus.

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Funding

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Author information

Author notes

  1. Yuan Tao and Pengfei Jiang have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ophthalmology Department, The Second People’s Hospital of Jinan City, Jinan, China

    Yuan Tao

  2. Ophthalmology Department, Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital, Yantai, China

    Pengfei Jiang

  3. Ophthalmology Department, Qihe County People’s Hospital, Dezhou, China

    Ying Zhao

  4. Ophthalmology Department, Dongying District People’s Hospital, Dongying, China

    Lihua Song

  5. School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China

    Yuntao Ma

  6. School of Basic Medical Sciences, Jining Medical University, Jining, China

    Yixiao Li

  7. Ophthalmology Department, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, 250011, Shandong, China

    Hong Wang

Authors
  1. Yuan Tao
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  2. Pengfei Jiang
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  3. Ying Zhao
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  4. Lihua Song
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  5. Yuntao Ma
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  7. Hong Wang
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Contributions

Conceptualization was carried out by YT and PJ. YZ contributed to methodology; formal analysis and investigation were done by LS; writing—original draft preparation was done by YT and PJ; writing—review and editing were carried out by HW. Funding acquisition was done by YM. Resources were gathered by YL.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hong Wang.

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Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Consent to participate

As a retrospective study, the Ethics Review Committee did not consider it necessary to obtain written informed consent forms from patients participating in this study.

Ethics approval

Ethical approval was waived by the Ethics Committee of Qilu Hospital of Shandong University in view of the retrospective nature of the study, and all the procedures being performed were part of the routine care.

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Tao, Y., Jiang, P., Zhao, Y. et al. Retrospective study of aflibercept in combination therapy for high-risk proliferative diabetic retinopathy and diabetic maculopathy. Int Ophthalmol 41, 2157–2165 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-021-01773-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-021-01773-6

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