Incidence of retinopathy of prematurity in Germany: evaluation of current screening criteria

Objective To evaluate current screening criteria for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) by investigating the incidence of ROP requiring treatment in infants with gestational age (GA) >= 30 weeks or postmenstrual age (PMA) = 30 weeks represented 33.1%-38.5% of the screening populations but only 1.40%-1.42% of the cases requiring ROP treatment. In a cohort of 281 infants treated for ROP, all 4 infants with GA >= 30 weeks had additional risk factors for ROP including prolonged oxygen supplementation and/or significant comorbidities. Five infants (1.8%) were treated at 32 weeks PMA and none at PMA = 30 weeks carried a very low or no risk for developing treatment-requiring ROP unless additional risk factors were present, and no treatment was performed earlier than 32 weeks PMA. These findings are of relevance for the ongoing re-evaluation of ROP screening criteria