ABSTRACT
Background Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. This study aimed to assess the Saudi population's levels of awareness and knowledge regarding glaucoma risk factors, symptoms, treatment, and outcomes. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among the Glaucoma Awareness Campaign attendees during the World Glaucoma Week (2015-2016). A structured questionnaire was used, and a knowledge score (0-25) was calculated as the sum of all correct answers. Sociodemographic factors, personal and family history of glaucoma, and the presence of risk factors were investigated and analyzed as factors affecting knowledge. Results The study included 1751 participants, with a mean age of 40.23 (SD ±13.86) years; 51.5% were males, 3.7% had glaucoma and 22.6% had a family history of glaucoma. The overall awareness rate was 65.6%, which was moderately higher among females (71.6%), older participants (≥40 years, 69.7%), and highly educated participants (70.6%). Concerning knowledge, 15.4% had fair to good knowledge (score 15-25). Participants with a personal history of glaucoma had relatively greater knowledge regarding glaucoma-specific questions, such as optic nerve damage (p=0.001) and the requirement of lifetime treatment (p<0.001). Conclusion Awareness and knowledge about glaucoma are limited among the Saudi population, regardless of socioeconomic class or educational status. Knowledge about glaucoma should be further promoted to enable early screening and prevention.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: Screening guidelines for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) are updated frequently to help clinicians identify infants at risk of type 1 ROP. This study aims to evaluate the accuracy of three different predictive algorithms-WINROP, ROPScore, and CO-ROP-in detecting ROP in preterm infants in a developing country. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted on 386 preterm infants from two centers between 2015 and 2021. Neonates with gestational age ≤30 weeks and/or birth weight ≤1500 g who underwent ROP screening were included. Results: One hundred twenty-three neonates (31.9%) developed ROP. The sensitivity to identify type 1 ROP was as follows: WINROP, 100%; ROPScore, 100%; and CO-ROP, 92.3%. The specificity was 28% for WINROP, 1.4% for ROPScore, and 19.3% for CO-ROP. CO-ROP missed two neonates with type 1 ROP. WINROP provided the best performance for type 1 ROP with an area under the curve score at 0.61. Conclusion: The sensitivity was at 100% for WINROP and ROPScore for type 1 ROP; however, specificity was quite low for both algorithms. Highly specific algorithms tailored to our population may serve as a useful adjunctive tool to detect preterm infants at risk of sight-threatening ROP.
Subject(s)
Infant, Premature , Retinopathy of Prematurity , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Humans , Retinopathy of Prematurity/diagnosis , Retinopathy of Prematurity/epidemiology , Retrospective Studies , Birth Weight , Gestational Age , Algorithms , Weight Gain , Risk Factors , Neonatal ScreeningABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a preventable blinding disorder affecting preterm infants. To date, maternal risk factors have not been studied in Saudi Arabia. This study aims to identify possible maternal risk factors for any stage and type 1 ROP. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 295 preterm infants screened for ROP between November 2013 and December 2018 at a Saudi Arabian tertiary-care hospital were included. We included infants with a gestational age ≤ 32 weeks and/or birth weight (BW) ≤1500 g. We analyzed 28 maternal and neonatal risk factors. RESULTS: The incidence of ROP at any stage and Type 1 were 31.9% and 7%, respectively. In the univariate analysis, the only maternal factor associated with any stage of ROP was spontaneous vaginal delivery (P = 0.049), but no maternal factor was an independent risk factor for type 1 ROP. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified lower BW, lower gestational age and longer neonatal intensive care unit stay as independent risk factors for the development of ROP at any stage (P < 0.05). For Type 1 ROP, lower BW, and intraventricular hemorrhage were significant independent risk factors (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The only maternal risk factor related to ROP was spontaneous vaginal delivery, which increased the risk of any stage of ROP. The single most predictive risk factor for any stage of ROP and Type 1 ROP was low BW. These findings emphasize the role of the obstetrician in promoting health care and modifying maternal risk factors to prevent preterm births related to a low BW.
