Retinopathy of prematurity in infants with birth weight>or=1250 grams-incidence, severity, and screening guideline cost-analysis.

PURPOSE: To determine the incidence and severity of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in infants with birth weight (BW) 1250 to 1800 g, to examine the influence of systemic conditions on the development of ROP in this population, and to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of various screening guidelines.

METHODS

We reviewed records from 259 consecutive infants with BW 1250 to 1800 g who were screened for ROP over a 3-year period. Extracted data included presence and severity of ROP, and the following potential risk factors (RF) for ROP development: sepsis, meningitis, necrotizing enterocolitis, intraventricular hemorrhage greater than stage I, pneumothorax, direct bilirubin>2 mg/dl, central line placement, antibiotic treatment>14 days, greater than seven red blood cell (RBC) transfusions, and mechanical ventilation>96 hours.

RESULTS

The overall incidence of ROP in this population was 4.2%. Two infants had stage 3 ROP, one with plus disease. Infants with stage 3 ROP had significantly lower BW (1299 versus 1484 g, P=0.013) and gestational age (GA) (28 versus 31 weeks, P=0.002) than those with no ROP. No infant with BW>1500 g developed treatable ROP. Conditions that best predicted ROP development in the 1501 to 1800 g BW group were sepsis, ventilation >96 hours, antibiotic use >14 days, RBC transfusions greater than seven units, and central line placement (P=0.001, P=0.001, P=0.012, P=0.014 and P=0.035, respectively). All infants with BW>1500 g who developed ROP had greater than or equal to two of these RF.

CONCLUSIONS

All cases of high-risk ROP would have been identified by current screening guidelines. Modified screening criteria of infants with (1) BW<or=1500 g or (2) BW 1501 to 2000 g and greater than or equal to two significant RF results in a $587.85 benefit per infant screened.