Introduction:

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a vasoproliferative disorder of the retina in preterm newborns and is an important and preventable cause of visual impairment in children. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of ROP in a sample of preterm infants with ophthalmologic observation criteria and its association with specific major risk factors.

Methods:

Retrospective study of clinical records of premature infants with criteria for ROP screening in a Portuguese neonatal intensive care unit between January 2011 and December 2018.

Results:

Three hundred thirty-five infants met the criteria for ROP screening. The incidence of ROP and severe ROP requiring treatment was 9.0% and 1.8%, respectively. No infants with gestational age (GA) > 30 weeks or birth weight (BW) > 1500 g developed ROP. Neonatal comorbidities such as respiratory distress syndrome and intraventricular hemorrhage were not significantly associated with the development of ROP. GA, BW, supplemental oxygen therapy, and surfactant administration were independent predictors for the development of ROP.

Discussion:

Compared to neighboring countries with similar human development indexes, the incidence of ROP found in this study was relatively low. Implementation of the American Academy of Pediatrics/American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO/AAP) guidelines in daily practice would potentially reduce the number of infants screened and allow diagnosis of most ROP cases.

Conclusion:

Statistically significant risk factors should be considered when evaluating preterm infants. Modification of current screening guidelines may be useful and cost-effective, and result in less stressful experiences for infants undergoing unnecessary ophthalmologic examinations.

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