Retinopathy of prematurity: Prevalence and risk factors

Background Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is one of the ma- jor causes of infant blindness. There are several factors known as risk factors for ROP. Recent studies show ROP as a disease of multifactorial origin. Objective To report the prevalence of ROP in Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta and its relation to several risk factors. Methods A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from December 2003-May 2005. All infants with birth weight 2500 grams or less, or gestational age 37 weeks or less, were enrolled con- secutively and underwent the screening of ROP at 4 to 6 weeks of chronological age or 31 to 33 weeks of postconceptional age. Result Of 73 infant who met the inclusion criteria, 26% (19 out of 73 infant) had ROP in various degrees. About 36.8% (7 out of 19 infants) were in stage III or more/threshold ROP. No ROP was noted in infants born >35 weeks of gestational age, and birth weight >2100 grams. No severe ROP was found in gestational age >34 weeks and birth weight >1600 grams. None of full-term, small for gestational age infants experienced ROP. Birth weight, sepsis, apneu, asphyxia, multiple blood transfusions, and oxygen therapy for more than 7 days were statistically significant with the develop- ment of ROP. However, using multivariate analysis, only asphyxia, multiple blood transfusions, and oxygen therapy for more than 7 days were statistically significant with the development of ROP. Conclusion Screening of ROP should be performed in infants born 34 weeks of gestational age and/or birth weight <1600 grams. Infants with birth weight from 1600-