Abstract
Objective
The optimal modification of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) screening policy in our unit, by tightening the applicable screening criteria, without missing treatment-requiring ROP (TR-ROP).
Study design
Retrospective analysis of screened infants with gestational age (GA) < 32 weeks and/or birth weight (BW) < 1501 g as well as cases beyond these thresholds but with comorbidities (April 2004 to April 2020).
Result
Of 1560 included infants, 18.4% (n = 288) developed any stage of ROP and 3.1% (n = 49) were treated. TR-ROP occurred at a mean (SD) 362/7 (25/7) weeks PMA, and not before a minimum of 323/7 weeks PMA. No treated infant would have been missed if screening criteria were reduced to GA < 30 weeks and/or BW < 1251 g. This modification would have resulted in 826 (52.9%) fewer infants undergoing screening.
Conclusion
Modifying the current screening criteria to GA < 30 weeks and/or BW < 1251 g would have spared over half of the screened infants from unnecessary examinations, without missing TR-ROP.
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All authors took part in the design of the study. SM, AM, AKS, and A-BH wrote the manuscript and the remaining authors gave their feedback and modifications. Statistical analysis was performed by SM and A-BH. All authors reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Moutzouri, S., Haidich, AB., Seliniotaki, A.K. et al. Optimization of retinopathy of prematurity screening in a tertiary neonatal unit in Northern Greece based on 16-year data. J Perinatol 42, 365–370 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-021-01196-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-021-01196-2