title: Less severe retinopathy of prematurity induced by surfactant replacement therapy.
abstract: To assess the effect of surfactant replacement therapy (SRT) on the prevalence and severity of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), we compared data from 160 SRT-treated preterm infants with data from 230 historic controls. The prevalence of ROP was 30.6% in the treatment group and 23.4% in the control group. Severe ROP (stages 3-4) was seen in 6.1% of the infants with ROP in the treatment group and 20.3% of the ROP patients in the control group. Surfactant therapy had no influence on the prevalence of ROP (odds ratio 1.4, 95% confidence interval 0.797-2.459, p = 0.242). However, SRT was associated with a decreased risk for severe ROP, compared to mild ROP (odds ratio 0.226, 95% confidence interval 0.056-0.905, p = 0.036). These data suggest that SRT is associated with a decreased risk for severe ROP.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neonatology, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Termote
authors.forename: N E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Schalij-Delfos
authors.forename: B P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Cats
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wittebol-Post
authors.forename: B R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Hoogervorst
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Brouwers
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011663:Pulmonary Surfactants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012178:Retinopathy of Prematurity / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D011663:Pulmonary Surfactants