Efficacy of Intravitreal Conbercept in Vitrectomy for Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy: An Integrated Meta-Analysis and Bibliometric Study.

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of intravitreal Conbercept administered before or during vitrectomy in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), additionally, a bibliometric analysis was performed.

Methods: The literature search was conducted using keywords and terms combined as follows: "conbercept", "vitrectomy", and "proliferative diabetic retinopathy", from January 2012 to August 2024. Additionally, we conducted three different comparisons. Data for the bibliometric analysis were obtained from the Web of Science database and analyzed using VOSviewer and Bibliometrix applications.

Results: A total of 16 studies encompassing 1,215 cases were analyzed in this review. Patients in the Conbercept group demonstrated significantly greater improvements in best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) compared to the no injection group at six-month follow-ups (MD = -0.36, 95% CI -0.45 to -0.28, P < 0.01). Additionally, the Conbercept group experienced fewer intraoperative complications, including reduced incidences of intraoperative bleeding (OR = 0.12, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.21), use of endodiathermy (OR = 0.26, 95% CI 0.15 to 0.47), silicone oil tamponade (OR = 0.50, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.73), and iatrogenic breaks (OR = 0.25, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.48). Both early and late postoperative vitreous hemorrhages were less common in the Conbercept group. When administered during vitrectomy, Conbercept still showed superior BCVA improvement at six months (MD = -0.32, 95% CI -0.46 to -0.18, P < 0.01). No significant difference was found between Conbercept and Ranibizumab in BCVA or intraoperative outcomes. From 2015 to 2025, 5,065 publications on Conbercept emerged, with declining growth but strong global collaboration and relevance in anti-VEGF ocular therapy.

Conclusion: This systematic review revealed that, similarly to other anti-VEGF injections, Conbercept injection improved BCVA and had lower rates of intraoperative and postoperative complications. Conbercept research shows strong global collaboration and evolving focus on clinical applications in retinal vascular disease management.