title: Retinopathy of prematurity: an optimum screening strategy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We sought to find out whether birth weight of less than 1251 g or gestational age less than 30 weeks could provide a safe and efficient screening criteria of detecting treatable retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).
  
  
  METHODS
  Infants either with a birth weight less than 1500 g or gestational age less than 32 weeks were screened for ROP during an 8-year period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In our study, the incidence of ROP was 36 of 187 (19.3%) infants. Although there was a slight increase in the number of infants screened over the years, the incidence of ROP of any stage remained stable. The maximum stage of ROP reached was stage 1 in 10 of 187 (5.3%), stage 2 in 8 of 187 (4.3%), and stage 3 in 18 of 187 (9.6%) infants. Among those with stage 3 disease, threshold ROP was present in 16 of 18 (88.9%). All infants with threshold ROP had a BW less than 1100 g and gestational age less than or equal to 28 weeks. Significantly fewer babies (105/187, or 56%) would have been examined had inclusion criteria of a birth weight of less than 1251 g and gestational age less than 30 weeks been applied. In addition, 31% (134/437) of screening examinations could have been avoided.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study suggests that a birth weight of less than 1251 g and gestational age less than 30 weeks can be safely and efficiently used to screen infants without missing a diagnosis of sight-threatening ROP in our catchment population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Southern General Hospital, Glasgow, United Kingdom. sho2@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Shu Fen
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: M R K
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Mathew
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wykes
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lavy
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Marshall
mesh_terms: D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D015997:Neonatal Screening / Q000379:methods*; D012178:Retinopathy of Prematurity / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012189:Retrospective Studies