Observation of optic disc neovascularization using OCT angiography in proliferative diabetic retinopathy after intravitreal conbercept injections

This study reports the short-term efficacy and safety of intravitreal conbercept injections for neovascularization at the disc (NVD) in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). Conbercept is a recombinant fusion protein with a high affinity for all isoforms of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A, placental growth factor and VEGF-B. A prospective case series study was conducted in 15 patients (15 eyes). Patients had complete ocular examinations and received a 0.5 mg intravitreal conbercept injection followed by supplemental pan-retinal photocoagulation (PRP). Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) was performed before and after treatment. Before treatment, the mean NVD area was 1.05 ± 0.33 mm(2), and it decreased to 0.56 ± 0.17 mm(2) after an interval of 7.5 d (p = 0.000). One eye required vitrectomy during follow-up. Recurrent NVD was observed in 2 eyes, which resolved after repeated injections. The remaining 12 eyes were stable over a mean follow-up period of 8.3 months. The mean area of the NVD in 14 patients without vitrectomy was 0.22 ± 0.11 mm(2) (p = 0.000) at the last visit. Intravitreal conbercept injections combined with intensive PRP are an effective and safe treatment for PDR with NVD. Quantitative information on NVD can be obtained with OCTA, which may be clinically useful in evaluating the therapeutic effect.