Retinopathy of prematurity: incidence, risk factors, and evaluation of screening criteria

Background/aim: The goal of this study was to investigate the incidence of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and the relationship between risk factors and disease in premature newborns in our neonatal intensive care unit. Materials and methods: A total of 219 premature subjects were retrospectively evaluated for retinopathy. Demographic information, clinical data, and risk factors were reviewed. Results: The gestational ages of the infants included in the study ranged between 25 and 36 weeks, and the birth weights ranged between 670 and 4460 g. In this study, the incidence of ROP was 20.1% (44) in preterm infants: 16 had stage 1 (36.4%), 15 had stage 2 (34.1%), 11 had stage 3 (25%), 1 had stage 4 (2.3%), 1 had stage 5 (2.3%), and 6 had plus (+) disease (7.2%). The risk factors associated with the development of ROP included low birth weight, ventilation treatment, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and maternal preeclampsia. The risk factors were analyzed with logistic regression analysis. The odds ratios were 5.952 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.030-17.447), 20.070 (95% CI: 4.213-95.600), 5.879 (1.916-18.037), and 3.200 (95% CI: 1.002-11.535), respectively. Conclusion: In this study, birth weight, ventilation treatment, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and maternal preeclampsia were the most important risk factors for the development of ROP.