Subconjunctival conbercept for the treatment of corneal neovascularization

Abstract:

AIM: To investigate the effectiveness and safety of subconjunctival injection of conbercept in the treatment of corneal neovascularization (CNV). METHODS: The data on 10 consecutively recruited patients with CNV who received a subconjunctival conbercept (1 mg) once, and measured the area, length, and diameter of neovascularization before and after (1d, 1, 2wk, and 1mo) treatment as well as the occurrence of systemic and ocular complications after treatment were analyzed. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant reduction in the area of CNV one day after treatment (mean±SD: 38.46±11.36 mm2), compared with before treatment (42.46±12.80 mm2, P<0.01). There was also a statistically significant reduction in the length (3.86±1.80 mm vs 4.64±1.77 mm, P<0.01) and diameter (0.044±0.022 vs 0.060±0.026, P<0.05) of CNV, one week after treatment comparing to before treatment. The reduction in all three parameters was maximized at two weeks after treatment (area: 29.49±8.83 mm2, P<0.001; length: 3.50±1.88 mm, P<0.001; and diameter: 0.038±0.017 mm, P<0.01). No severe systemic or ocular complication was observed during the study. CONCLUSION: During the observation period of one-month, subconjunctival injection of conbercept is an effective and safe method for the reduction of CNV. It may be effective as a preoperative drug for neovascular corneal transplantation.

Key words:corneal neovascularization; conbercept; anti-vascular endothelial growth factor; subconjunctival injection