Table 1. Basic characteristics of the included nine studies.
| Study | Country of publication | Major inclusion criteria | M/F | Mean age (a) | No. of eyes | Intervention groups | Follow-up | NOSscore |
| Koh et al 2012 [22] | Singapore | 1) Treatment-naive patients with symptomatic PCV; 2) BCVA between 73 and 24 letters; 3) GLD<5400 µm; 4) without other fundus disease or surgery |
G1: 11/8 G2: 15/6 G3: 15/6 |
G1: 63.8±8.30 G2: 62.2±9.77 G3: 69.3±8.27 |
G1: n=19 G2: n=21 G3: n=21 |
G1: PDT (50 J/cm2, PRN)+IVR(0.5 mg, 3+PRN) G2: PDT (50 J/cm2, PRN)+sham injection G3: IVR (0.5 mg, 3+PRN)+sham PDT |
6mo | 9 |
| Lee et al 2013 [25] | Korea | 1) Treatment-naive patients with symptomatic PCV; 2) without other fundus disease or surgery; 3) no use of immunosuppressive drugs |
G1: 11/1 G2: 5/3 |
G1: 63.68±8.78 G2: 66.33±7.85 |
G1: n=12 G2: n=8 |
G: PDT (50 J/cm2)+IVR (0.5 mg) G2: PDT (50 J/cm2) |
3mo | 8 |
| Oishi et al2013 [26] | Japan | 1) Treatment-naive patients with PCV; 2) VA≤0.6 logMAR unit; 3) GLD<5400 µm; 4) Without other fundus disease or surgery |
G1: 32/15 G2: 28/18 |
G1: 75.0±8.0 G2: 75.4±6.9 |
G1: n=47 G2: n=46 |
G1: PDT (50 J/cm2, PRN) G2: IVR (0.5 mg, 3+PRN) |
24mo | 9 |
| Inoue et al 2013 [27] | Japan | 1) Treatment-naive patients with PCV; 2) BCVA≥20/400; 3) without eye diseases that couldinfluence VA |
G1: 9/14 G2: 30/14 |
G1: 73.2±7.5 G2: 71.0±7.8 |
G1: n=33 G2: n=44 |
G1: IVR (0.5 mg, 3+PRN)G2: PDT (50 J/cm2, PRN) | 24mo | 6 |
| Kang and Koh 2014 [28] | Korea | 1) Treatment-naive patients with symptomatic PCV;2) presence of BVN and polypoidallesions on ICGA;3) without other fundus disease | NR | G1: 66.21±9.0G2: 68.05±8.12 | G1: n=19 G2: n=23 | G1: PDT (50 J/cm2, PRN)G2: IVR (0.5 mg, 3+PRN) | 24mo | 5 |
| Maruko et al 2011 [29] | Japan | Treatment-naive patients with symptomatic PCV | G1: 12/4 G2: 6/5 | G1: 71.8 G2: 71.0 | G1: n=16 G2: n=11 | G1: PDT (50 J/cm2, PRN) G2: PDT (50 J/cm2, PRN)+IVR(0.5 mg, 3+PRN) |
6mo | 6 |
| Rouvas et al 2011 [30] | Greece | 1) Treatment-naive patients with PCV; 2) VA≤20/30; 3) identification of polyps and interconnecting vessels on the ICGA; 4) presence of subretinal hemorrhages or exudation |
G1: 5/6 G2: 4/6 G3: 4/5 |
G1: 62.9 G2: 66.5 G3: 64.67 |
G1: n=11 G2: n=10 G3: n=9 |
Group1: PDT (50 J/cm2, PRN) Group2: IVR (0.5 mg, 3+PRN) Group3: PDT (50 J/cm2, PRN)+IVR(0.5 mg, 3+PRN) |
12mo | 5 |
| Saito et al2013 [31] | Japan | 1) Treatment-naive patients; 2)VA≤20/40; 3) without other fundus disease or surgery |
G1: 17/8 G2: 27/5 |
G1: 74.0±8.6 G2: 75.0±6.5 |
G1: n=25 G2: n=32 |
G1: PDT (50 J/cm2, PRN)+IVR(0.5 mg, 3+PRN) G2: PDT (50 J/cm2, PRN) |
24mo | 6 |
| Sakurada and Iijima 2013 [32] | Japan | 1) Treatment-naive patients with consecutive PCV; 2) BCVA≤1.0 logMAR unit |
G1: 25/9 G2: 16/8 |
G1: 70.1±7.1 G2: 73.2±7.4 |
G1: n=34 G2: n=24 |
G1: PDT (50 J/cm2, PRN) G2: PDT (50 J/cm2, PRN)+IVR(0.5 mg, 3+PRN) |
24mo | 6 |
G1: Group 1; G2: Group 2; G3: Group 3; RCT: Randomized controlled trial; RS: Retrospective study; NR: Not reported; PCV: Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy; BVN: Branching vascular network; BCVA: Best-corrected visual acuity; VA: Visual acuity; PRN: Pro re nata; 3+PRN: 3 monthly injections followed by pro re nata treatment; CRT: Central retinal thickness; GLD: Greatest linear dimension; PDT: Photodynamic therapy; IVR: Intravitreal ranibizumab; logMAR: Logarithm of minimal angle of resolution.