Background: The most severe form of rapidly progressing retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is termed aggressive posterior ROP (APROP). APROP frequently causes severe visual impairment in affected preterm infants despite timely and appropriate laser treatment. Objectives: We investigated the postnatal characteristics associated with APROP development in a national Swedish cohort. Methods: This retrospective, 1:1 matched case-control study included all infants that developed APROP in zone 1 (n = 9) between 2008 and 2012. Control infants, matched for gestational age and birth weight, developed ROP no worse than stage 2 (n = 9). We retrieved data from medical records on infant birth characteristics, postnatal morbidities, and blood analyses from birth to the first ROP treatment. Infectious episodes included sepsis, C-reactive protein ≥10 mg/l, and other clinical signs of infection that required antibiotic treatment. A platelet count <100 × 10⁹/l was considered to be thrombocytopenia. Results: All APROP cases postnatally developed at least two infectious episodes, one in the first month and one around the time of ROP diagnosis. All APROP cases exhibited thrombocytopenia in the first month, and 6/9 exhibited thrombocytopenia around the time of ROP diagnosis. Compared to the controls, APROP cases more frequently developed necrotizing enterocolitis (8/9 vs. 1/9; p < 0.01) and sepsis (9/9 vs. 3/9; p < 0.01), and they had significantly lower median platelet counts (90 × 10⁹/l, range 4-459, vs. 158 × 10⁹/l, range 20-500; p < 0.001). Conclusion: Multiple infectious episodes and thrombocytopenia, particularly around the time of ROP diagnosis, were associated with APROP development.

Ischaemic stroke patients continue to be at risk for recurrent vascular events for many years. Predictors of long-term prognosis are needed. It was the objective of this study to investigate levels of four haemostatic proteins as long-term predictors of recurrent vascular events after ischaemic stroke. We prospectively followed 548 ischaemic stroke patients, 18-69 years, and registered recurrent vascular events. Plasma levels of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA), von Willebrand factor (VWF), fibrinogen and thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor activation peptide (TAFI-AP) were measured three months after index stroke. Cox regression models were used to assess associations to outcomes for single biomarkers and for a combined biomarker measure. For single biomarkers significantly associated with any of the outcomes, we performed subanalyses stratified for age, sex, diabetes and atherosclerosis. During 5,637 person-years of follow-up, we registered 74 vascular deaths, 90 recurrent strokes and 62 coronary events. Levels of t-PA, VWF and fibrinogen were significantly associated with vascular death and coronary events. After adjustment, the association between t-PA and vascular death remained (HR per 1 SD increase in plasma level 1.27, 95 % CI 1.00-1.61, p=0.047). The combined effect of t-PA, VWF and fibrinogen was associated with coronary events (adjusted HR 1.35, 1.02-1.80, p=0.04). In non-diabetic patients, an association with coronary events was seen for VWF levels (adjusted HR 2.23, 1.45-3.43, p<0.01). In conclusion, plasma levels of haemostatic factors were associated with vascular death and coronary events, but not with recurrent stroke. Our results suggest that the predictive value of biomarkers differ by specific outcome measure and subgroup of patients.

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