ABSTRACT
The purpose was to determine if birth weight [BW] alone can be the sole criterion for screening infants at risk for retinopathy of prematurity [ROP]. In this retrospective, observational case series, 208 infants were screened for ROP using the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus [AAPOS] Guidelines [1997]. Variables examined included gestational age [GA], birth weight [BW], and a composite variable BWGA Index [[grams x weeks]/1000], which takes into consideration both the birth weight and gestational age of the infant. Infants were divided into two groups: Group 1, BW 1250 g. Multivariate analysis was performed to detect factors predictive of ROP. Receiver operator characteristic [ROC] curves were generated to determine the efficacy of screening using the BW, GA, and BWGA Index. Statistical analyses were performed with logistic regression with a P-value of 0.05 or less indicating statistical significance. Varying stages of ROP were present in 116 of 416 eyes. Of the 105 eyes in Group 2, only 1 eye developed stage 1 ROP. Only Group 1 eyes developed stage 3 or higher ROP. The ROC curve for BW alone gave an area under the curve [AUC] of 0.797 [standard error [SE]=0.0329, P<0.0001]; for GA, AUC was 0.801 [SE=0.0340, P<0.0001] and for the BWGA Index, the AUC was 0.808 [SE=0.0324, P<0.0001]. Using 1250-g BW as a criterion for ROP screening would have decreased the number of screenings by 24%, and did not exclude any ROP higher than stage 1. Data from our neonatal intensive care unit suggest that birth weight