Retinopathy of prematurity – update on screening, treatment, recent studies and long-term outcomes

Abstract

Retinopathy of prematurity, short ROP, is still one of the leading causes of childhood blindness worldwide. The management of ROP, however, has changed tremendously during the last years. This article summarizes known risk factors for ROP, preventive measures and the updated version of the German recommendations for ROP-screening and treatment. A special focus is laid on new treatment options, in particular anti-VEGF treatment, as well as the post-operative and long-term follow-up after treatment. This article also emphasizes the need for joint data collection on an international level and presents the newly-developed initiative for a European wide data collection (EU-ROP) which will be introduced in 2021. All physicians treating ROP infants are welcome to join the EU-ROP initiative.