Preoperative Intravitreal Conbercept Facilitates Vitrectomy in Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy: Is Attention Required for the Fellow Eye?

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of preoperative intravitreal conbercept (IVC) injection on patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). METHODS: Medical records of patients who underwent vitrectomy due to complications of PDR were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were grouped as the IVC group and non-IVC group according to preoperative IVC. Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative data of both eyes were collected. The main outcome measures were best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure (IOP), central retinal thickness (CRT), and incidence of tractional retinal detachment (TRD). RESULTS: A total of 37 cases were included, 16 in the IVC group and 21 in the non-IVC group. Preoperative IVC significantly reduced surgical duration (IVC vs. non-IVC, 88.9 ± 11.9 min vs. 97.8 ± 12.8 min, p < 0.05). In the vitrectomized eye, no significant difference existed between the IVC group and non-IVC group regarding postoperative BCVA (logMAR, 1.20 ± 0.53 vs. 1.27 ± 0.54, p = 0.68), IOP (16.5 ± 2.9 mmHg vs. 15.6 ± 3.7 mmHg, p = 0.44), and CRT (330.1 ± 35.2 μm vs. 319.2 ± 32.5 μm, p=0.34). In the fellow eye, 6 cases in the IVC group were diagnosed with TRD during postoperative follow-up, while only 2 cases were diagnosed in the non-IVC group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Preoperative intravitreal injection of conbercept has effectively facilitated vitrectomy in PDR patients, but it potentially promotes tractional retinal detachment in the fellow eye following preoperative injection.