Validation of the postnatal growth and retinopathy of prematurity criteria in Taiwanese: A prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND

While the Postnatal Growth and Retinopathy of Prematurity (G-ROP) screening criteria have undergone retrospective validation across various populations, prospective validation is essential before these criteria can be recommended for clinical use and wider adoption. We conducted a prospective study to validate the generalizability of G-ROP screening criteria in a new cohort of Taiwanese preterm newborns.

METHODS

This prospective study included 114 premature infants who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit between December 2019 and August 2024. The diagnostic performance of the G-ROP criteria for ROP detection were assessed.

RESULTS

Using the G-ROP criteria, 89 of 89 (specificity 100%) infants without ROP were accurately excluded, while a sensitivity of 88.0%, a positive predictive value (PPV) of 100.0% and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 96.7% for any ROP were identified. This criterion exhibited a sensitivity of 87.5%, a specificity of 100.0%, a PPV of 100.0% and a NPV of 100.0% for identifying type 1 ROP; a sensitivity of 100.0%, a specificity of 100.0%, a PPV of 100% and a NPV of 98.9% for identifying type 2 ROP; and a sensitivity of 0%, a specificity of 100.0%, a PPV of 0% and a NPV of 97.8% for identifying A-ROP. Compared to the screening criteria of currently recommended body weight and gestational age, G-ROP criteria reduced unnecessary examinations in 26 infants (23%) without any ROP.

CONCLUSIONS

This prospective study demonstrated that G-ROP criteria are generalizable and may reduce lower-risk infants (who did not develop treatment-requiring ROP during follow-up) receiving examination, exhibiting higher sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV for ROP detection than currently recommended guideline.