Purpose
To determine whether birth weight less than1,500 grams is a relevant guideline indicating the need for examination for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) when gestational age at birth is 30 or more completed weeks.
Design
A retrospective observational cohort study.
Methods
266 infants in a single institutional neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), whose gestational age at birth was 30 or more weeks but whose birth weight was less than 1,500 grams, were examined according to published guidelines. Infants with lethal congenital anomalies or major ocular abnormalities were excluded. Outcomes were vascularization in retinal zone III without a prior need for treatment, or ROP warranting treatment.
Results
A study outcome was reached by 212 infants. Two hundred and eleven (99.5%) became vascularized through zone III without needing treatment. Only 1 (0.5%) required treatment for ROP. The 95% confidence interval for the occurrence rate of ROP requiring treatment in this cohort was 0.01 to 2.60%.
Conclusion
Our results suggest that the occurrence rates of ROP requiring treatment in infants with gestational age 30 or more weeks and birth weight less than 1,500 grams is very low, and could indicate the need to revise examination guidelines for this subgroup of infants.
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