Retinopathy of Prematurity: Treatment-Needed Patients, Treatment Complications, and Recurrence Rate

The prevalence of Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) is rising in Iran. We aimed to evaluate the clinical and demographic characteristics of ROP infants who need treatment, the type of treatment, and the complications in the years 2018 to 2022.
This is a cross-sectional study. We evaluated the patient’s electronic medical records from 2018 to 2022. The required data was extracted from the registry dataset, including demographics, clinical characteristics of infants who required treatment, and the type and severity of treatment-related complications.
From 10,159 infants referred to the retinopathy of prematurity clinic from the beginning of 2018 to 2022, 5008 subjects (49.29%) were suffering from ROP, among whom 416 (8.3%) patients needed treatment for ROP. The mean ± Standard Deviation (SD) of birth age and birth weight were 28.66 ± 2.24 weeks and 1227.24 ± 375.97 grams. While most of our patients (742 eyes, 96.4%) underwent Intravitreal Bevacizumab (IVB) injection as the treatment modality, laser photocoagulation was performed for 25 eyes. Four eyes received pars plana vitrectomy treatment. The recurrent disease occurred in 23 patients (44 eyes). Birth age, birth weight, and the time of oxygen therapy were significantly different between the treatment responders and the neonates who experienced the recurrent disease.
In this study, we showed that the birth age and weight of neonates who experienced a relapse were significantly lower. Besides, the results of treatment with IVB injection were satisfactory, with a relatively low recurrence rate and minimal complications.