Ahmed Iqbal Quddusi, Abdur Rehman, Naila Nizami.
Frequency of Retinopathy of Prematurity in the Premature Infants.
Pak Paed J Jan ;38(2):79-83.

Objective: To determine the frequency of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in the premature infants. Materials and Methods: This was a cross sectional study. Thirty one consecutive premature infants with birth weight <1500 grams and gestational age < 33 weeks admitted to the Neonatal Care Unit of Children Complex, Multan during 1st July 2012 to 31st October 2012, were considered but 06 infants died. The remaining 25 infants underwent eye examinations between their 6th and 10th week of life and followed up periodically. All the cases were analyzed and chi square test was applied as the test of significance. Frequency of various risk factors was noted. Results: Amongst 25 infants, 18 (72%) were males and 07 (28%) females. A total of 05 (20.0%) infants developed ROP (inclusive of all stages) in one or both eyes. In infants who developed ROP; 60% had the birth weight between 1000 grams to 1299 grams, 40% with gestational age of < 30 weeks and 60% required oxygen therapy for > 7 days. Mean postnatal age was 20.32 days. All the infants were given oxygen therapy from 0.5 liters to 2 liters and no infant out of these 25 needed mechanical ventilation. Oxygen saturation (SPO2) was more than 90%. Sepsis (100%), apnea (40%), anemia (40%) and hypercapnia (20%) were the most common risk factors in ROP infants. Conclusion: The frequency of ROP in our hospital was 20%. Most prevalent risk factors were prolonged duration of oxygen therapy sepsis, apnea and anemia in infants with ROP.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com