THE ROLE OF POSTNATAL GROWTH AND CLINICAL PREDICTION MODELS IN THE EARLY IDENTIFICATION OF SEVERE RETINOPATHY OF PREMATURITY

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) remains an important cause of preventable visual impairment among infants born prematurely. The development of effective screening strategies has become increasingly important as improvements in neonatal intensive care have increased the survival of extremely preterm and very low birth weight infants. Although gestational age and birth weight remain central to identifying infants at risk, these characteristics do not fully explain why some infants develop severe ROP while others with similar birth characteristics do not. Postnatal growth has attracted considerable attention as a potential indicator of retinal development and neonatal health. Inadequate weight gain may reflect nutritional difficulties, systemic illness, or a complicated neonatal course. Prediction models that combine birth characteristics with postnatal growth and clinical variables have therefore been developed to improve early identification of infants at risk of severe or treatment-requiring ROP. Nevertheless, their performance and applicability may vary between populations.