Objective To evaluate the efficacy of combining the replenishing qi and nourishing yin empirical formula with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in diabetic macular edema (DME).

Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 59 patients diagnosed with DME at Tongji Hospital of Tongji University or Shanghai Nanxiang Hospital, Jiading District from June 2019 to December 2022. Among them, 29 cases received intravitreal injection of ranibizumab (anti-VEGF group), while 30 cases received both intravitreal injection of ranibizumab and oral administration of the replenishing qi and nourishing yin empirical formula (combined treatment group). The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central macular thickness (CMT), and the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome score were compared between the two groups before treatment and at 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 weeks after treatment.

Results Compared with before treatment, BCVA significantly improved (P＜0.05) and CMT significantly decreased (P＜0.05) at different time points after treatment in both groups. At 16, 20, and 24 weeks after treatment, BCVA in the combined treatment group was superior to that in the anti-VEGF group (P＜0.01). At 12, 16, 20, and 24 weeks after treatment, CMT in the combined treatment group was lower than that in the anti-VEGF group (P＜0.01). Starting from week 8 after treatment, the TCM syndrome scores in the combined treatment group were lower than those in the anti-VEGF group (P＜0.01).

Conclusions The replenishing qi and nourishing yin empirical formula could improve the efficacy of anti-VEGF therapy in DME patients, indicating that integrating traditional Chinese and Western medicine has certain clinical application value in treating DME.