The efficacy and safety of oral propranolol in the treatment of retinopathy of prematurity

Objective To study the changes of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and sE-Selectin in serum before and after oral propranolol therapy for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and to study the safety and efficacy of oral administration of propranolol in the treatment of ROP. Method Preterm infants whose gestational age <32 weeks and ROP Ⅱ stage without plus disease were selected as the objects of our study. The infants were randomly enrolled into treatment and placebo groups in a 1∶1 allocation. The propranolol dosage was 0.25 mg/(kg·d), twice daily orally. The duration of treatment was to complete retinal vessel development or discharge, the longest oral propranolol treatment did not exceed 30 days. Result The incidence of severe ROP in the treatment group was significantly reduced (17.1% vs.37.2%, P=0.033), and the number requiring laser treatment of the eyes was significantly reduced (3.7% vs.12.8%, P=0.048). After 10 days of treatment, the serum sE-Selectin decreased significantly in the treatment group, it was significantly lower than that in the placebo group (P 0.05). There were no significant differences in mean arterial pressure, body weight gain, and urine volume between the two groups (P>0.05). The serum potassium level in the treatment group was significantly higher than that in the placebo group after the treatment of 20 days and 30 days, [(4.2±0.9) mmol/L vs.(3.8±0.4) mmol/L, (4.4±0.9) mmol/L vs.(3.9±0.4) mmol/L], the differences were statistically significant (P 0.05). Conclusion Propranolol may have a certain therapeutic effect on the progression of ROP. The oral administration was relatively safe and without significant adverse effects. Key words: Retinopathy of prematurity; Propranolol; Vascular endothelial growth factors; Selectins