Retinopathy of prematurity in southern Taiwan: A 10-year tertiary medical center study

Background/Purpose Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a leading cause of childhood blindness. This retrospective study investigated ROP, including incidence, demographic information,risk factors, treatments, and refractive outcomes, in southern Taiwan over a 10-year period. Methods The authors retrieved the National Cheng Kung University Hospital database between the years 2000 and 2009 for newborns with a gestational age less than 32 weeks and/or with a birth weight less than 1500 g who had been screened for ROP. We recorded sex, birth weight, gestational age, in-hospital versus out-of-hospital birth, paternal and maternal ages, whether there were multiple gestations, parity, Apgar scores, length of hospital stay, risk factors, presence and severity of ROP and whether it was treated, and refraction at the last visit. Regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors for ROP. Results A total of 503 live births were included. ROP was identified in 190 (37.8%) and met criteria for treatment in 59 (11.7%).ROP was diagnosed as stage 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 in 61 (12.1%), 36 (7.2%), 81 (16.1%), 11 (2.2%), and 1 (0.2%) infant, respectively. Lower birth weight and younger gestational age were risk factors for greater severity of ROP ( p Conclusion Low birth weight is a major risk factor for ROP. Infants with extremely low birth weight had a higher risk of severe ROP. Common ocular sequelae of advanced ROP were myopia and anisometropia.