Efficacy and safety of pan retinal photocoagulation combined with intravitreal anti-VEGF agents for high-risk proliferative diabetic retinopathy: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: High-risk proliferative diabetic retinopathy (HR-PDR) is the advanced stage of diabetic retinopathy progression with poor prior treatment efficacy and high rates of blindness. This meta-analysis aims to compare the efficacy and safety of pan retinal photocoagulation (PRP) combined with intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (aVEGF) (PRP + aVEGF) versus PRP monotherapy in HR-PDR patients. METHODS: A thorough search was performed through PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and the Cochran Library from inception to December 18, 2022. Outcome measures included change in central macular thickness, best-corrected visual acuity, fluorescein angiography, incidence of undergoing vitrectomy, and adverse events during the follow-up period. RESULTS: Eight studies (6 randomized controlled trials and 2 retrospective studies) with 375 eyes were included in this meta-analysis. There were no obvious differences in the changes of best-corrected visual acuity and fluorescein angiography between the PRP + aVEGF and PRP monotherapy groups. However, PRP + aVEGF group had a significant reduction in the change of central macula thickness (standard mean deviations = −1.44, 95%CI = −2.55 to −0.32, P = .01) and the rate of undergoing vitrectomy (odds ratio = 0.20, 95%CI = 0.05–0.83, P = .01). Additionally, the risks of vitreous hemorrhage and other complications were not significantly different between the 2 groups. CONCLUSION SUBSECTIONS: Our meta-analysis indicated that PRP + aVEGF might have potential benefits in the treatment of HR-PDR patients. However, given several limitations of this study, more research is needed to confirm our findings.