Clinical Characteristics and Predictive Features of Neonates With Treatment‐Needed Retinopathy of Prematurity: A Retrospective Cohort Study

TL;DR

This study identifies key risk factors for treatment-needed retinopathy of prematurity in premature infants, including low birth weight and gestational age.

Contribution

The study provides new insights into specific neonatal and maternal risk factors for treatment-needed ROP in a large cohort.

Findings

Lower gestational age and birth weight significantly increase the risk of treatment-needed ROP.

Longer NICU stays are strongly associated with the need for ROP treatment.

Maternal gestational hypertension is linked to a lower prevalence of ROP.

Abstract

Several variables have been identified as risk factors for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). This study evaluated the risk factors associated with the increased need for treatment in infants with ROP.

In this longitudinal study, the medical records of premature infants referred to the ROP clinic of a tertiary referral center in northeast Iran between July 2014 and June 2022 were reviewed. Probable neonatal and maternal risk factors for the need for treatment were analyzed.

Of the 9692 referred neonates, 4634 (47.8%) were diagnosed with any stage of ROP. The majority (53%, n = 4141) were male. The mean gestational age (GA) was 32.71 ± 2.52 weeks, and the mean birth weight (BW) was 1812 ± 501 g. 427 (4.4%) of 9692 referred infants were treated. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, lower gestational age (OR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.53–0.79; p < 0.001), lower birth weight (OR, 0.8; 95% CI, 0.68–0.93; p < 0.001), and longer length of stay in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) (OR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.55–1.63; p < 0.001) were significantly associated with the need for treatment.

We showed that lower birth weight, lower gestational age, and more extended NICU hospitalization were significant predictors of the development of ROP and treatment‐needed ROP. Besides, the prevalence of ROP was significantly lower among patients with maternal gestational hypertension.