Abstract
Purpose::
To show the incidence and severity of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in East Bavaria from 2001 to 2006 applying digital wide-field imaging and remote reading.
Methods::
Data were collected prospectively during 6 years from 01/2001 to 11/2006 from 5 neonatal intensive care centers (NICUs) in East Bavaria. All preterm infants with a GA of ≤ 32 wks and a BW of ≤ 1500g were examined according to the German National Guidelines1 and imaged with the digital wide-angle fundus camera RetCam 120. Data were analyzed in the Reading Center at the University of Regensburg according to the newest guidelines and ROP staging following the revised International Classification of ROP2. The highest stage (at therapy when indicated) was evaluated. ROP was classified as none, mild, prethreshold, threshold, and also according to the Early Treatment of ROP study ETROP into treatment requiring ROP i.e. ROP Type 1 and Type 23,4.
Results::
Data of 747 babies were reviewed. The overall incidence of ROP of any stage was 29.2% (218 / 747, no ROP stage 4 or 5), no ROP was detected in 70.8% (529 / 747). In the cases with ROP, 66.5 % (145 /218) were mild, 18.4% (40 /218) at prethreshold, and 15.1 % (33/218) at threshold. One-hundred ninety five infants could be classified according toROP Type 1 or 2: ROP Type 1- 22.6 % (44/195), ROP Type 2- 77.4 % (151/195). Zone I disease was found in 4.6% (10/218), zone II disease in 80.3% (175/218), and zone III disease in 15.1% (33/218). The incidence of threshold disease showed some variation (6.0% in 2001, 3.1% in 2002, 4.1% in 2003, 5.2% in 2004, 4.9% in 2005, and 3.8 % in 2006), the mean incidence was 4.4%. The overall incidence of ROP was 22.6% in 2001, 21.4% in 2002, 25.5% in 2003, 31.1% in 2004, 39.0% in 2005 and 39.9% in 2006 .
Conclusions::
This study found no significant difference in the overall incidence of ROP in East Bavaria (29.2%) compared to data from other West European countries (18% to 32%). Interestingly, the overall incidence of ROP was 0.5 times higher in the second 3 years compared to the first 3 years (36% vs. 23.6%). The mean incidence of threshold disease was in the lower range compared to recent studies (4.8% and 9.8%). All ROP cases detected in our study were below stage 4 showing the potential of our telemedical screening program. 1. Ophthalmologe 1999, 96:257 2. Arch Ophthalmol 2005, 123:991 3. Arch Ophthalmol 2003, 121:1684 4. Arch Ophthalmol 2003, 121:1697
Keywords: retinopathy of prematurity • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: treatment/prevention assessment/controlled clinical trials • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence