Incidence, Severity and Risk Factors for Retinopathy of Prematurity in Premature Infants with Late Retinal Examination

To determine the incidence, severity and risk factors for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in premature infants with late retinal examination at Farabi Hospital from 2001 to 2006.

In a cross-sectional study, hospital records of premature infants who were examined later than 9 weeks after birth were reviewed for possible risk factors of ROP including gender, singleton or multiple gestations, gestational age (GA), birth weight (BW), oxygen therapy, blood transfusion, photo-therapy, and respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), as well as the age at initial examination.

From 693 infants referred for ROP screening, 191 (27.6%) had late retinal examination at mean age of 144.8±158.4 (range 64-1460) days. Of these 191 infants, 75 (39.3%) had different stages of ROP, 58 (30.4%) had stage 4 or 5 disease and 27 (14.1%) had stage 5 ROP in both eyes which were untreatable. GA and BW were associated with development of ROP (P<0.001).

The high prevalence of premature infants with late retinal examination and high incidence of severe ROP necessitates prompt intervention to optimize referral and early screening of premature infants.