AIM: To systematically evaluate the effect of anti-VEGF and laser treatment on type 1 retinopathy of prematurity(ROP).

METHODS: Randomized controlled trials(RCTs)comparing the efficacy of anti-VEGF and laser therapy for type 1 ROP were retrieved from PubMed, EMbase, CBM, The Cochrane Library, WanFang Data, CNKI and VIP databases. The search time was from the establishment of the databases to January 2020. The data were extracted according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. After quality evaluation, then Meta-analysis was made by Revman 5.3 software.

RESULTS: A total of 6 RCTs were included. The results of Meta-analysis showed that: there was no statistical difference in the recurrence incidence between anti-VEGF group and laser group [RR=0.94, 95% CI (0.17-5.23), P=0.94]; subgroup analysis revealed a statistical significant in zone Ⅰ[RR=0.17, 95% CI (0.05-0.62), P=0.007], while zone II has no statistical significant [RR=2.20, 95% CI (0.07-73.48), P=0.66]. Compared with the laser group, the retreatment rate [RR=2.36, 95% CI (0.70-7.99), P=0.17]was statistical significant; There was no significant difference in subgroup analysis of zone Ⅰ[RR=0.33, 95% CI (0.01-7.50), P=0.49], while the difference in zone Ⅱ[RR=13, 95% CI (1.84-92.01), P=0.01] was statistically significant. There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups[RR=0.87,95% CI(0.54-1.40),P=0.57].

CONCLUSION: Laser and anti-VEGF treatment are equally effective. Anti-VEGF has less recurrence rate in zone Ⅰ while laser is more effective in the retreatment rate in zone Ⅱ.