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¹Beyoğlu Göz Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, İstanbul, Uzm. Dr.
²Zeynep Kamil Eğt. ve Araşt. Hast., Yenidoğan Yoğun Bakım Ünitesi, İstanbul, Uzm. Dr.
³Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi Göz Hastalıkları A.D., Çanakkale, Yard. Doç. Dr.
⁴Yüksekova Devlet Hastanesi, Göz Hastalıkları Kliniği, Hakkari, Uzm. Dr.
⁵Beyoğlu Göz Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi Klinik Şefi, İstanbul, Doç. Dr. Purpose: To investigate the incidence and related factors of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in low-birth-weight infants screened in neonatal intensive care units.
Materials and Methods: Medical records of 150 infants who had a gestational age of less than 35 weeks, or 35 to 37 weeks with a low-birth-weight between January 2005-October 2006 were reviewed. Gestational age, birth weight, phototherapy, oxygen therapy, blood transfusion and other pathologies were recorded. ROP were graded due to International Classification of Retinopathy of Prematurity (ICROP).
Results: Mean gestational age of the infants in this study was 30.5±2.6 (26-37) weeks, and mean birth weight was 1226±283 (700- 2200) grams. Postnatal fundus examination was done at postnatal 4 weeks. Follow-up was 1 week apart with a mean number of 4 (2-9). At follow-up, various grades (grade 1 to 3) of ROP was detected in 46.7% of 150 infants. High risk, prethreshold ROP (Type 1) was detected in 37 (24.7%) infants and referred to another clinic for treatment. Type 1 ROP was found to have a statistically significant relationship between gestational age (p<0.001), and birth-weight (p<0.001).
Discussion: Low-birth-weight and gestational age were found to be related for develeping high risk pretreshold ROP. Screening of all premature infants in neonatal intensive care units and early referral of infants at risk to the limited number of clinics is extremely important for preventing blindness in our country. Keywords : Low-birth-weight, gestational age, infant, retinopathy, retinopathy of prematurity.