Changing Treatment Patterns of ROP at a Tertiary Medical Center between 2002 and 2012

Abstract

Background and Objective: To clinically correlate and evaluate the screening and treatment patterns of retinopathy of prematurity by a single physician at a tertiary care center between 2002 and 2012. Patients and Methods: A group of 10,924 newborns screened for ROP between 2002 and 2012 were retrospectively analyzed in a consecutive case series. Records of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Jackson Memorial Hospital/Bascom Palmer Eye Institute were reviewed to identify patients clinically diagnosed with retinopathy of prematurity who underwent treatment. Results: Laser photocoagulation was used to treat 231 of 10,924 (2.1%). Of these 231 patients, 176 (76.2%) were included in the study (55 infants were excluded because they were referred from outside institutions for advanced ROP). Of the 176 treated patients, 89 (50.6%) were male and 87 (49.4%) were female. The average birth weight was 687.3 g. The mean gestational age was 24.8 weeks. The mean time between birth and treatment was 3 months. Of the 176 patients, 31 required re-treatment with laser photocoagulation. The rates of treatment and re-treatment significantly declined with the experience of the treating physician (P