Maternal and infantile risk factor profile of preterm infants screened for retinopathy of prematurity in a tertiary hospital

Objective@#To identify maternal and infantile risk factors for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) among preterm infants screened in St. Luke’s Medical Center, Quezon City (SLMC-QC) from 2014-2017.@*Methods@#This was a retrospective study that included the ROP databank of the Eye Institute and the Research and Biotechnology Group of St. Luke’s Medical Center, Quezon City from 2014 to 2017. This study included medical records of all premature infants screened for ROP and excluded those who had incomplete data or other ocular pathologies other than ROP. Risk factors were analyzed using univariate analysis. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were also calculated with significant P value set at <0.05.@*Results@#Among the 455 infants screened for ROP, 118 (25.9%) had any stage of ROP while 23 (5.0%) had treatment-warranted ROP (TW-ROP). Univariate regression analysis showed that the top 5 infantile risk factors associated with any stage of ROP and TW-ROP were low birth weight (97.5% and 100%, respectively), prematurity (87.3% and 100%, respectively), history of blood transfusion (21.2% and 13%, respectively), sepsis (21.2% and 17.4%, respectively), and oxygen supplementation (16.1% and 8.7%, respectively). After multivariate analyses, the most important adjusted risk factors associated with any stage of ROP include low birth weight (OR 52, CI 16.20166.96, P =0.001), prematurity (OR 25.73, CI 14.10-46.95, P =0.001), and history of blood transfusion (OR 8.79, CI 4.08-18.96, P =0.0001).@*Conclusion@#The most significant infantile risk factors associated with any ROP include low birth weight, prematurity, and history of blood transfusion. There were no significant probable maternal risk factors. Timely ROP screening is recommended especially among infants with any of these risk factors in their profile.

Short wavelength automated perimetry and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer in early diabetes

@#<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>OBJECTIVE:</strong> To investigate the significance of short wavelength automated perimetry (SWAP) in detecting retinal functional impairment in early diabetic patients without retinopathy and with mild non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR). <br /><br /> <strong>METHODS:</strong> This is a prospective, cross-sectional study of 37 eyes of early diabetics which were divided into 2 groups: no DR with 18 subjects and mild NPDR with 19. All subjects underwent HBA1C, SWAP, peripapillary RNFL thickness measurement and fundus photo. Visual field indices: MD and PSD as well as average RNFL thickness were compared among the 2 groups. Correlation of MD with RNFL thickness and HBA1C were also analyzed. <br /><br /> <strong>RESULTS:</strong> There was no statistically significant difference in the MD (-4.46 ± 3.03 vs -2.94 ± 2.21; p=0.09), PSD (3.08 ± 1.28 vs 2.69 ± 0.47; p=0.23) and average peripapillary RNFL thickness (98.47 ± 6.89 vs 98.72 ± 11.01; p=0.93) among early diabetics with mild NPDR and no signs of DR. There is no correlation between MD and RNFL thickness in the no DR group (R2=0.017) and the mild DR group (R2=0.000). There was a weak correlation between MD and HBA1C in the no DR group (R2=0.137), while no correlation was seen in the mild NPDR group (R2=0.000). <br /><br /> <strong>CONCLUSION:</strong> SWAP does not appear to be a sensitive measure of worsening retinopathy in older individuals with early diabetes. The usefulness of SWAP and peripapillary RNFL thickness in the early stages of retinopathy are inconclusive.</p>