SHORT-TERM OUTCOMES AFTER INTRAVITREAL INJECTIONS OF CONBERCEPT VERSUS RANIBIZUMAB FOR THE TREATMENT OF RETINOPATHY OF PREMATURITY

Purpose: Intravitreal injection of conbercept (IVC) is the latest applied treatment that could be used in retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) patients. The structural outcomes and recurrence of ROP among patients treated with IVC or intravitreal injection of ranibizumab (IVR) were compared. Methods: A consecutive case series of ROP treated with IVC or IVR were retrospectively studied. The primary outcome was treatment success defined as regression of plus disease. The secondary outcomes were recurrence of plus, times of injection, and the final regression of disease. Results: A total of 48 eyes (24 patients) with ROP were included. Twenty eyes (10 patients) received IVC, and 28 eyes (14 patients) received IVR. For the IVC group, 18 eyes had Zone II 3+ ROP and 2 eyes had aggressive posterior ROP. Among the 28 eyes treated with IVR, 6 eyes had Zone I 2/3+ ROP, 6 eyes had aggressive posterior ROP, and 16 eyes had Zone II 3+ ROP. For the IVC group, the mean gestational age, birth weight, postmenstrual age at initial treatment, and follow-up period for the infants were 29.49 +/- 1.37 weeks, 1,369.0 +/- 161.9 g, 38.47 +/- 2.72 weeks, and 52.6 +/- 21.4 weeks, respectively. And for the infants who received IVR, these were 28.35 +/- 1.62 weeks, 1,171.4 +/- 279.9 g, 38.53 +/- 3.54 weeks, and 42.9 +/- 9.8 weeks, respectively. For the IVC group, 17 (85%) of 20 eyes received the injection only once, and the regression of plus disease occurred 4.3 +/- 2.08 weeks later. Three eyes (15%) did not healed with one injection received a second IVC, and the regression of plus disease occurred within 3 weeks. For the IVR group, 15/28 (53.6%) eyes received a second IVR. Among them, 10 recurrent eyes and 5 eyes did not recover with one injection. No retinal detachment was observed in both group infants. Conclusion: Both conbercept and ranibizumab are effective choice for the treatment of ROP. Conbercept is a novel effective treatment strategy for ROP providing a new treatment option for ophthalmologists.