title: Severe retinopathy of prematurity in infants <30 weeks' gestation in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory from 1992 to 2002.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) significantly increased in New South Wales (NSW) from 1986 to 1994, but more recent data suggest that there has now been a decrease.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To study the incidence and treatment of severe ROP (stage >or=3) in NSW and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) from 1992 to 2002.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data collected prospectively from the Neonatal Intensive Care Units' (NICUS) Data Collection over an 11-year period in infants <30 weeks' gestation were divided into four epochs and analysed retrospectively. The incidence and treatment of severe ROP were compared for gestational ages <or=24 weeks', 25-26 weeks' and 27-29 weeks' gestation over the four epochs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In infants <or=24 weeks' gestation the incidence of severe ROP and those treated increased significantly (stage >or=3: from 17 (41.5%) to 41 (53.9%), p=0.052; treated: from 8 (19.5%) to 25 (32.9%), p<0.05 (first and fourth epoch)). In infants 25-26 weeks' gestation the incidence of severe ROP decreased significantly whereas there was a non-significant increase in those treated (stage >or=3: from 55 (26.2%) to 46 (19.3%), p<0.05; treated: from 19 (9.0%) to 32 (13.4%)). In infants 27-29 weeks' gestation, there was no significant change in the incidence of severe ROP or those treated (stage >or=3: from 30 (4.1%) to 17 (2.4%); treated: from 14 (1.9%) to 8 (1.1%)).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In infants <or=24 weeks' gestation there has been a significant increase in severe ROP, and in infants <27 weeks' gestation the numbers treated for severe ROP increased.
authors.affiliation: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, The Canberra Hospital, PO Box 11, Woden, ACT Australia. David.Todd@act.gov.au
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Todd
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D020958:Australian Capital Territory / Q000453:epidemiology; D001724:Birth Weight; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D008297:Male; D012178:Retinopathy of Prematurity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery; D012720:Severity of Illness Index