Efficacy of intravitreal conbercept injection in the treatment of retinopathy of prematurity

Background To evaluate the safety and efficacy of intravitreal conbercept (IVC) injection in the treatment of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Methods Patients with ROP who underwent IVC injection in Zhujiang Hospital from June 2015 to July 2016 were studied retrospectively. The primary outcome was defined as the regression of plus disease. The secondary outcomes were defined as the presence of recurrence, number of injections and the final regression of disease. Results A total of 48 eyes of 24 patients with ROP were included. Among them, 9 eyes of 5 patients had zone I ROP, 35 eyes of 18 patients had zone II ROP and 4 eyes of 2 patients had aggressive posterior ROP. The mean gestational age was 28.5 +/- 1.6 weeks, the mean birth weight was 1209.6 +/- 228.6 g, the mean postmenstrual age of first injection was 34.2 +/- 1.9 weeks and the mean follow-up period was 31.0 +/- 4.7 weeks. Forty of 48 eyes (83.3%) received IVC only once, and the regression of plus disease occurred at an average of 3.5 +/- 1.5 weeks after the first injection of conbercept. For eight recurrent eyes (16.7%), four eyes received a second IVC and the remaining four eyes received laser photocoagulation, and the regression of plus disease occurred in 3 weeks. No lens opacity, vitreous haemorrhage, entophthalmia or retinal detachment was observed during follow-up. Conclusion IVC injection is an effective treatment for ROP.