Risk factors and screening results in retinopathy of prematurity

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the incidence of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in premature infants and to find out the risk factors that play a role in its development. Material and Materials and Method: 223 infants who were scanned and followed for retinopathy of prematurity at Ondokuz Mayis University, Faculty of Medicine between the dates January 2007 and August 2014 were included in the study. The data of the examinations were obtained from our clinic's archive while the patients' birth weights and comorbid systemic diseases were taken from patient files. Results: 446 eyes of 223 premature infants, 129 of whom were male (57.8%) and 94 of whom were female (42.2%), were examined in the study. Of the 223 infants, 138 (61.9%) were found to have ROP at any stage while ROP was not found in 85 (38.1%) infants. Of the risk factors examined in our study, birth weight, birth week, multiple pregnancy, respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), blood transfusion, sepsis, intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), surfactant treatment, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) were found to be the risk factors that affected the incidence of ROP. In the multivariate regression analysis that was conducted, birth week, birth weight and intraventricular hemorrhage were found to play a role in the development of ROP as independent risk factors. Conclusion: Retinopathy of prematurity is a multifactorial disease. In our study, low birth weight, low gestation age and intraventricular hemorrhage were found to be the risk factors effective in the development of retinopathy of prematurity. © 2015 Gazi Eye Foundation. All rights reserved.