Assessing the Prevalence and Determinants of Retinopathy of Prematurity in King Saud Medical City, Saudi Arabia

TL;DR

This study examines how often preterm infants develop retinopathy of prematurity and identifies risk factors like low birth weight and gestational age.

Contribution

The study provides region-specific insights into ROP prevalence and risk factors in Saudi Arabia.

Findings

23.7% of preterm infants had retinopathy of prematurity, with 18.3% reaching stage 3.

Low birth weight and young gestational age were strongly correlated with ROP occurrence.

No cases of blindness were reported among the studied infants.

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the incidence, risk factors, and outcomes of preterm infants diagnosed with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted involving infants with birth weight (BW) ≤1500 g or gestational age (GA) ≤32 weeks admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit at King Saud Medical City (KSMC) from December 2019 to December 2023.

Results: 593 infants were recruited; among them, 392 had available data. Of these, 93 (23.7%) infants had ROP, of which 17 (18.3%) were stage 3. The mean BW of infants diagnosed with ROP was 1265.4±324.1 g, while the mean GA at birth was 29.6±2.45 weeks. Significant correlation was found between ROP occurrence and young GA at birth, low BW, low Apgar score at 1 and 10 minutes, and long duration of oxygen therapy. After a medical records review, no subject had blindness.

Conclusion: The prevalence of ROP in this study is close to that reported in the region. Low BW and young GA were the most significant risk factors in the city. Controlling the amount and duration of oxygen therapy to the minimum necessary seems advisable.

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