Real-world outcomes of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy for retinal vascular vein occlusion in Tibet, China

? AIM: To evaluate the outcomes of intravitreal anti -vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents for patients with retinal vein occlusion (RVO) related-macular edema (ME) in Tibetan.? METHODS: A retrospective, observational, single-center study. The demographic and clinical data of 90 RVO Tibetan patients (93 eyes) treated with either ranibizumab or conbercept in Tibet Autonomous Region People's Hospital from Jan 2018 to December 2019 were collected.? RESULTS: The mean patient age was 56.8 +/- 10.6y, 45 (50%) of them were female. The mean living altitude was 3867.8 +/- 567.9 m. At the last visit, the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) significantly increased (52.2 +/- 21.8 letters) in comparison with the baseline (38.2 +/- 24.1 letters, P<0.001); while the central retinal thickness (CRT) significantly reduced (245.5 +/- 147.6 mu m) in comparison with the baseline (504.1 +/- 165.2 mu m, P<0.001). The 43.0% of the eyes gained >= 15 letters, 60.2% of the eyes gained >= 10 letters, and 78.5% of the eyes gained >= 5 letters. No vision loss was noted in 92.5% of the eyes, 4 eyes lost more than 10 letters during follow-up period. The mean number of injections was 2.4 +/- 1.8. No severe ocular or systemic adverse events related to either the drug or injection were noted.? CONCLUSION: Anti-VEGF therapy is effective and safe in Tibetan patients for the treatment of RVO related ME.