Reduced rate of treated retinopathy of prematurity after implementing lower oxygen saturation targets

Objective To evaluate an implementation of lower oxygen saturation targets with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) as primary outcome, in infants at the lowest extreme of prematurity. Study design Retrospective cohort including infants born at 22-25 weeks of gestation in 2005-2015 (n = 325), comparing high (87-93%) and low (85-90%) targets; infants transferred early were excluded from the main analysis to avoid bias. Results Overall survival was 76% in high saturation era, and 69% in low saturation era (p = .17). Treatment-requiring ROP was less common in low saturation group (14% vs 28%, p < .05) with the most prominent difference in the most immature infants. Including deceased infants in the analysis, necrotizing enterocolitis was more frequent in low saturation era (21% vs 10%, p < .05). Conclusions Implementing lower saturation targets resulted in a halved incidence of treatment-requiring ROP; the most immature infants seem to benefit the most. An association between lower oxygenation and necrotizing enterocolitis cannot be excluded.