Is retinopathy of prematurity increasing among infants less than 1250 g birth weight?
OBJECTIVE
Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a complication seen in many very low birth weight infants. Severe ROP has been called a "marker" for severe disability. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the occurrence and severity of ROP among infants < or =1250 g birth weight treated in the Special Care Nursery at Women & Infants' Hospital over a period of 7 years from 1994 to 2000.


METHODS
This was a retrospective review of ROP data combined with neonatal follow-up data. Of the 1002 infants born with birth weights <1250 g, ophthalmologic data were available for 739 of 839 survivors. Analysis of variance and chi2 along with logistic regression were used to analyze outcomes.


RESULTS
An increase in the overall occurrence of ROP was identified (40% to 54% linear trend, p=0.007). The occurrence of threshold ROP ranged from 2% to 5% (NS). Infants at greatest risk of ROP were those micropremies with birth weights <750 g (p<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Severe ROP continues to be a significant morbidity among infants <750 g.
O'Connor
Maureen T
MT
Department of Pediatrics, Women and Infants' Hospital, Brown Medical School, Providence, RI 02905, USA.
Vohr
Betty R
BR
Tucker
Richard
R
Cashore
William
W
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D010102:Oxygen Inhalation Therapy; D015995:Prevalence; D012178:Retinopathy of Prematurity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D012189:Retrospective Studies