Incidence and risk factors of retinopathy of prematurity in Goa, India: a report from tertiary care centre

Abstract

Background: To report the incidence and risk factors leading to the development of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) from a tertiary care center in the western Indian state of Goa, India.Methods: This was a prospective observational study carried out in a level II neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for a period of 18 months. Babies born at < 34 weeks’ gestation and having a birth weight of <1500gm were screened for ROP and laser photocoagulation was done for those who developed threshold ROP. Group differences between any ROP and threshold ROP were analysed using the chi-square test.Results: Out of the 244 preterm neonates screened, 37 developed ROP (15.16%), and 14 out of them (5.73%) developed threshold ROP requiring laser photocoagulation. Very low birth weight, prematurity, apnea, anemia, sepsis, respiratory distress syndrome, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, blood transfusions, exchange transfusions and days taken to reach full enteral feeds and regain birth weight were significantly associated with the development of ROP.Conclusions: This is the first report of ROP from Goa where less than 1 in 5 babies developed ROP. This is similar to that reported across the rest of the country. Judicious oxygen use, ventilation strategies, transfusions guidelines, control of sepsis, early enteral feeds and adequate nutrition may help prevent the development of ROP in the future.

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in Ardebil (North West of Iran): Prevalence and Risk factors

“…A significant relationship between birth weight and ROP was also confirmed by multivariate logistic regression analysis by which birth weight less than 1725 g was associated with a 4.5-fold increase in the risk of ROP (OR = 4.522, 95% CI: 2.677-7.637, P <0.001). This finding is consistent with many previous studies (4,(11)(12)(13)16,17,19).…”

“…ROP is a multifactorial disease in which low gestational age at birth has been suggested in several studies as an important risk factor for this disease. In studies in India, Pakistan, Mexico, Portugal, Oman, and Isfahan, the gestational age of neonates with retinopathy at birth was significantly lower than that of nonpatients (4,11,13,14,16,17), which are in accordance with our findings. In a study by Ludwig et al (2017) in the United States, multivariate regression analysis showed that gestational age was an independent predictor of ROP (12), which is similar to the present study.…”

“…The need for treatment among premature infants with retinopathy in the study of Kossambe et al (2019) in India was 38.7%, followed by 36.4% in Portugal and 31.1% in Mexico, which are higher than our study (11,13,17). However, the need for treatment among infants with ROP in a study in the United States was 3.8% and 17% in a study in Australia, which is less than the present study (12,29).…”

“…In the present study, 107 neonates (26.8%) of the 400 preterm infants had ROP.The prevalence of ROP varies greatly in different studies. Among studies conducted outside Iran, the prevalence of ROP in the study of Chedid et al (2009) in the UAE was 11%, followed by 15.2% in the study of Kossambe et al (2019) in India, and 19.9% in the study of Ludwig et al (2017) in the United States, all of which are less than our study (10)(11)(12). While its prevalence in the study of Acevedo-castelln et al (2019) in Mexico was 56.1%, followed by 40.4% in Oman, 34% in Egypt, 33% in Pakistan, and 31.3% in Portugal.…”

Retinopathy of prematurity in Ardabil, North West of Iran: Prevalence and risk factors

“…ROP is a multifactorial disease in which low gestational age at birth has been suggested in several studies as an important risk factor for this disease. In studies in India, Pakistan, Mexico, Portugal, Oman, and Isfahan, the gestational age of neonates with retinopathy at birth was significantly lower than that of non-patients, 4,11,13,14,16,17 which are in accordance with our findings. In a study by Ludwig et al (2017) in the United States, multivariate regression analysis showed that gestational age was an independent predictor of ROP, 12 which is similar to the present study.…”