High serum prolactin and vasoinhibin levels predict and may impact ROP progression.

Early ROP screening at the NICU that includes FA is a safe procedure, and gives the examiner details of vascular changes that are not detectable by indirect ophthalmoscopy, which could predict the progression to threshold disease, and provide an alert about the need of therapeutic interventions.

To describe the characteristics of infants with bilateral Stage 4b or 5 ROP (i.e. with subtotal or total retinal detachment) who presented to eye departments in two major cities in Mexico, to identify reasons why they may have become blind in order to recommend how programs could be improved. A large case-series of infants with Stage 4b or 5 ROP in both eyes confirmed by ultrasound who attended the ROP Clinic, Hospital Civil de Guadalajara from September 2010 to November 2012, and the Department of Ophthalmology, Hospital Infantil de Mexico Federico Gomez from December 2011 to December 2012 were identified from the diagnostic databases of each hospital. Mothers of infants in Guadalajara had a telephone interview. 89/94 eligible infants were included in the study, 48 in Guadalajara and 41 in Mexico City. Cases came from 22 of the 32 states in Mexico. Half of the infants attending Guadalajara 24/48 (50 %) had been cared for in NICUs without ROP screening programs and were not examined. Among the 24 infants cared for in NICUs with ROP programs, 7/24 (29.1 %) mothers reported that their infant had not been examined while in the NICU, and a further 9/24 (37.5 %) were either not referred for screening after discharge or they did not attend. Two infants had failed laser treatment. Strategies and resources to prevent end stage ROP have not been firmly established in Mexico. There is an urgent need to expand the coverage and quality of ROP programs, to ensure that existing screening guidelines are better adhered to, and to improve communication with parents.

Purpose: To assess the safety and effectiveness of 2 mg ziv-ablifercept (ZA) in different retinal diseases. Methods: Single arm, open-label, prospective study. A 2 mg (0.08 mL) ZA dose was administered following the hospital protocols for topical anesthesia. The following were considered adverse effects: IOP >3 mmHg from baseline, retinal detachment, vitreous hemorrhage, endophthalmitis, retinal vasculitis, retinal necrosis, cataract progression, anterior and posterior uveitis. Results: The study included 91 eyes of 55 patients and 50% were men, with a median age of 64.26 ± 11.86 years, a mean of 1.68 ± 0.91 injections; baseline central foveal thickness (CFT) of 390. 91 ± 162.01 microns compared to a final CFT of 319.02 ± 104.67 microns (p = 0.000). Baseline best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in logMAR was 0.86 ± 0.49 compared to a final BCVA of 0.75 ± 0.48 (p = 0.000). No adverse effects were reported. Conclusions: ZA is a safe and effective medication for the treatment of macular edema, regardless of the etiology, and it is also an affordable medication. Long-term studies are needed to evaluate its effectiveness compared to those drugs already approved for intravitreal use.