The many faces of ophthalmopathy of prematurity

Relevance. Retinopathy (ophthalmopathy) of prematurity (ROP) is a severe vasoproliferative eye disease that primarily affects profoundly premature infants. It is one of the most acute problems in pediatric ophthalmology, as this disease occupies a leading position in the structure of blindness and visual impairment in early childhood. Purpose. To present in detail the main achievements of the scientific research of the pediatric ophthalmologist in the N.I. Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University about the dominant problem of neonatal ophthalmology – ROP. Material and methods. The literature review of scientific publications and dissertations was conducted by the staff of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Pediatric Faculty of N.I. Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University under the guidance of the department head, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor E.I. Sidorenko. These works studied the morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics of the visual system in premature newborns and the pathogenesis of ROP. Results. Analysis of the conducted research convincingly demonstrated that in children with ROP, all eye tissues are affected, not just the retina; therefore, it is more accurate to refer to this disease as «ophthalmopathy of prematurity». Researchers have proposed to identify the first preclinical angiospastic phase in the development of ophthalmopathy of prematurity. The course of the disease, treatment effectiveness, and recurrence (reactivation) rates depend on various factors that need to be considered in the treatment of ROP. It is recognized that the most significant factors are the degree of prematurity, primarily gestational age and birth weight of the premature infant. Researches that do not consider these risk factors will significantly affect research results and assessments of the effectiveness of ROP. Conclusion. The accumulated experience requires distinguishing forms of ROP not only based on birth weight and gestational age but also based on the degree of prematurity. Key words: premature infants, retinopathy of prematurity, risk factor analysis, gestational age, degree of prematurity, birth weight