Oxygen therapy in patients with retinal artery occlusion: A meta-analysis.

Background: Oxygen therapy has been widely used for RAO (retinal artery occlusion) patients; however, inconsistent results have been reported.

Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Medline (OvidSP), Cochrane, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang Database were examined. The primary endpoint was visual acuity (VA), and RevMan software 5.3 was used to statistically analyze the outcomes.

Results: Seven randomized controlled trials (RCTs) met the inclusion criteria. Patients who received oxygen therapy exhibited probability of visual improvement about 5.61 times compared with the control group who did not receive oxygen therapy (OR = 5.61; 95% CI, 3.60-8.73; p < 0.01). No statistically significant difference was observed between oxygen inhalation methods (Chi2 = 0.18, df = 1, p = 0.67), combined therapy (Chi2 = 0.21, df = 1, p = 0.64), or RAO type (Chi2 = 0.06, df = 1, p = 0.81). Conversely, 100% oxygen (Chi2 = 4.55, df = 1, p < 0.05) and hyperbaric oxygen (Chi2 = 4.55, df = 1, p < 0.05) significantly improved VA in RAO patients. Better effect was showed in period within 3 months (Chi2 = 5.76, df = 1, p < 0.05). The most effective treatment length was over 9 hours (Chi2 = 6.58, df = 1, p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Oxygen therapy demonstrated beneficial effects in improving VA in RAO patients, particularly when patients were treated with 100% hyperbaric oxygen and for over 9 hours.