Prevalence and Risk Factors of Retinopathy of Prematurity in Premature Born Infants

Background: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) poses a serious challenge to the health of preterm infants. Given that blindness caused by this disease is treatable—and considering its higher incidence in developing countries—we investigated the prevalence and identified risk factors associated with ROP.Methods: This cross-sectional study included 100 premature infants with a gestational age of less than 37 weeks and a birth weight of less than 2500 g. All infants were examined for ROP by an ophthalmologist beginning from the fourth postnatal week. Comparisons were made between two groups: those with ROP and those without.Results: The prevalence of ROP in this study was 21%. The analysis showed a significant association between the occurrence of ROP and gestational age (P = 0.031), as well as the number of ventilator days (P = 0.05). However, no significant relationship was found between ROP occurrence and sex, age, birth weight, sepsis, oxygen therapy, Apgar score, intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), pneumothorax, corticosteroid use, or surfactant administration (all P > 0.05).Conclusion: Preventive measures should be taken to reduce the incidence of premature deliveries. Additionally, clinicians should be aware of the increased risk of ROP when providing ventilation and adopt intelligent oxygen therapy and appropriate management strategies.