Comparison of the efficacy and safety of conbercept plus panretinal photocoagulation versus panretinal photocoagulation alone for proliferative diabetic retinopathy: A multicenter, prospective, randomized controlled study.

Purposes: This study compared the efficacy and safety of intravitreal injection of conbercept with panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) and PRP alone in Chinese patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) without center-involved diabetic macular edema (CI-DME). Methods: This multicenter, prospective, controlled study randomized patients with PDR without CI-DME (1:1) to receive a single conbercept intravitreal injection followed by PRP (combination group, n = 51) or PRP alone (PRP group, n = 59). Mild pre-retinal or vitreous hemorrhage was permitted but not required for enrollment. The primary outcome was the PRP completion rate at week 4. Secondary outcomes included the total number of PRP spots at week 4; best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central subfield thickness (CST) changes from baseline to week 4, 12, 16, and 24; and treatment-related adverse events. Results: Ninety-eight patients (89.1%) completed the study. Baseline demographics, ocular characteristics, and the presence of pre-retinal or vitreous hemorrhage were similar between the groups (all Conclusions: Conbercept administered intravitreally 1 week prior to PRP helped improve the PRP completion rate and delayed VH progression. Its impact on long-term prognosis remains to be elucidated by future research.