Does Bevacizumab Improve Outcomes After Ahmed Glaucoma Valve Implantation for Refractory Glaucoma?: A Meta-Analysis

Mean intraocular pressure (IOP), complete and overall success, mean IOP-lowering medications, incidence of hypertensive phase, and complications were found to be comparable between patients undergoing Ahmed glaucoma valve implantation (AGVI) with adjunctive bevacizumab versus AGVI alone.

This meta-analysis aims to assess how adjunctive bevacizumab impacts the surgical outcomes of AGVI compared with AGVI alone in all subtypes of refractory glaucoma.

A systematic search of databases for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was performed in March 2023. Primary outcomes included mean IOP and success rates. Secondary outcomes were mean IOP-lowering medications, incidence of hypertensive phase, and complications. Qualitative assessment, meta-analysis, subgroup analyses, and sensitivity analysis were performed.

Five RCTs comprising 203 eyes were included in the quantitative analysis. Initial meta-analysis showed a strong yet nonsignificant trend (all P > 0.05) favoring adjunctive bevacizumab in all outcomes of interest. Significant heterogeneity was observed for mean IOP and success outcomes at all time points (all I2 > 50%). Subgroup analysis of the administration route revealed a reduced incidence of hyphaema in the intravitreal bevacizumab subgroup (odds ratio: 0.10; 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.59; P = 0.01) with significant heterogeneity persisting in the intravitreal bevacizumab subgroup for all measures (all I2 > 50%). Post hoc sensitivity analysis of studies without concurrent pan-retinal photocoagulation for mean IOP and success outcomes demonstrated more conservative effect sizes with a corresponding decrease in heterogeneity for all measures (all I2 < 30%).

Published studies investigating the role of adjunctive bevacizumab show a strong trend to improve outcomes but contain a relatively small number of participants. This analysis underpins the need for an adequately powered RCT to explore the role of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agents in AGVI surgery.