The effect of changing oxygen saturation protocols on the incidence of laser treatment for retinopathy of prematurity.

OBJECTIVE

To compare the incidence of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) requiring laser treatment among infants with birth weights of ≤ 1250 g before and after the implementation of a new oxygen saturation protocol in the neonatal intensive care unit of British Columbia Children's Hospital.

DESIGN

Retrospective, comparative review of medical records.

PARTICIPANTS

Premature infants with birth weights of ≤ 1250 g who were screened for retinopathy of prematurity from November 2003 to October 2005 and February 2006 to January 2008 (269 patients).

METHODS

The hospital's ROP database was reviewed, and the patients were divided into 2 groups. The preprotocol group (November 2003-October 2005) consisted of patients who were screened before the new oxygen monitoring protocol was instituted and the postprotocol group (February 2006-January 2008) consisted of patients screened after its implementation.

RESULTS

A total of 141 patients were in the preprotocol group and 128 patients in the postprotocol group. The mean birth weight and gestational age of the 2 groups were comparable (p = 0.81, 0.71, respectively). There was a 30% reduction in the incidence of laser treatment in the postprotocol group (preprotocol group = 22/141 [15.6%] vs postprotocol group = 13/128 [10.2%]; p = 0.19).

CONCLUSIONS

We observed a decrease in the rate of severe ROP requiring laser treatment after the implementation of the new oxygen monitoring protocol. While not statistically significant, this is consistent with what has been found at other centres.