A Prospective Observational Study on Retinopathy of Prematurity in Low Birth Weight Babies at a Tertiary Care Centre of West Bengal

ABSTRACT

Aims: The aim of the study was to know the prevalence, severity, and progression of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) amongthe screened low birth weight (LBW) and preterm babies and to determine how many of these babies require treatment.Methods: Prospective, observational study was done between August 2018 and March 2019. Screening for the presence ofROP and its severity in 588 eyes of 294 infants below 2000 g birth weight and/or period of gestation <34 weeks in SpecialNewborn Care Units. The retinal findings were documented and staging of ROP was determined, based on the InternationalClassification of ROP guidelines. Further follow-up and treatment were done accordingly.Results: In our study, 14.28% of the total numbers of babies screened were found to have different stages of ROP and 6.5%of the total number needed treatment. Among babies with birth weight above 1250 g, screening of 418 eyes of 209 babieswas done, of which 28 eyes of 14 babies were diagnosed as ROP (6.7%). Of which 12 babies received oxygen and 4 babies(8 eyes) required treatment. Among babies with ≤1250 g body weight, screening of 170 eyes of 85 babies was done, of which56 eyes of 29 babies developed ROP (33%), of which 25 babies received oxygen and 15 babies (30 eyes) required treatmentsuch as laser photocoagulation and intravitreal ranibizumab.Conclusion: ROP is emerging as one of the leading causes of irreversible childhood blindness, if not diagnosed and treatedearly. As very LBW babies are increasingly surviving because of the ever-improving perinatal care, the prevalence of ROP isalso increasing. That’s why regular ocular screening and timely intervention of those babies are to be done to prevent permanentblindness. Moreover, the magnitude of the problem in this part of our country will enable us to prepare our infrastructure to tackle it.