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Feb 8, 2013Article Details
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Main Article Content
Prevalence of and risk factors for retinopathy of prematurity in a cohort of preterm infants treated exclusively with non-invasive ventilation in the first week after birth
Abstract
ventilation at Tygerberg Children’s Hospital, Parow, Cape Town, South Africa, and to identify risk factors associated with the development
of ROP.
Methods. A retrospective medical records review of infants screened for ROP during a 2-year period (January 2009 - December 2010). Infants who did not receive invasive ventilation during the first week of life were included. Twenty-four previously reported risk factors for the development of ROP were identified for use in a multivariate logistic regression (MLR) analysis.
Results. A total of 356 patients were included. The overall prevalence of ROP was 21.8% and that of clinically significant ROP (CSROP) 4.4%. The risk factors with a statistically significant association with the development of ROP on MLR analysis were severe apnoea (p=0.0005) and decreasing birth weight (p=0.0382).
Conclusions. There is a low prevalence of ROP in the cohort of preterm infants treated exclusively with non-invasive ventilation in the first
week of life. The risk factors of importance in our population were severe apnoea and lower birth weight. Birth weight is a practical and reproducible variable that can be used to aid development of ROP screening criteria.
