A prospective observational study of retinopathy of prematurity in a tertiary care centre with respect to its incidence, risk factors and short term outcomes

Introduction: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is an important cause of blindness in children. Early detection and timely intervention decreases the morbidity associated with it. 

Objectives: To determine the incidence, risk factors and short term outcomes of ROP in a tertiary care centre and compare it to unpublished data from the same centre from 2010-2012. 

Method: Newborns admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Bharati Hospital and Research Centre, Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University Medical College (BVDUMC), Pune, Maharashtra, India, with gestational ages <32weeks or birth weights <1500g were included in the study and followed up. Newborns admitted with gestational ages 32 weeks or more or birth weights 1500g or more were also included when associated with risk factors such as sepsis, mechanical ventilation more than 24 hours, oxygen therapy / non-invasive ventilation more than 1 week, surfactant therapy, exchange transfusion, intra ventricular haemorrhage (IVH), patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), packed cell transfusion therapy, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) or necrotising enterocolitis (NEC). Enrolled babies, as per protocol, were examined regularly and in cases diagnosed with ROP, treatment was given accordingly. A total of 186 babies was screened for ROP from January 2015 to September 2016 and this data was compared to 374 babies screened for ROP from January 2010 to July 2012. Ethical clearance for the study was obtained from the BVDUMC, Pune, Maharashtra, India.

Results: ROP incidence in BVDUMC, Pune, Maharashtra, India has increased from 12% in 2010-2012 to 19.9% in 2015-2016. Ten (27%) babies with ROP required laser photocoagulation in 2015-2016 in comparison to 27 (40%) babies with ROP who needed laser photocoagulation in 2010-2012. 

Conclusions: Gestational age, birth weight, mechanical ventilation, oxygen therapy, packed cell transfusion, surfactant administration and bronchopulmonary dysplasia had statistically significant associations with ROP in BVDUMC, Pune, Maharashtra, India 

Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health, 2017; 46(4): 343-352