Risk of Retinopathy of Prematurity Across Fenton Chart Birth Weight Percentiles

Abstract

Purpose : To evaluate the association between birth weight percentile on the Fenton preterm growth chart and the risk for developing retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

Methods : Retrospective review of 1294 infants (January 2006 - April 2016) was performed using a ROP registry. We examined the birth weight percentile using the Fenton preterm growth chart. Weight percentile groups were categorized as follows: ≤3^rd (group 1), 4-10^th (group 2), 11-24^th (group 3), 25-75^th (group 4), >75^th (group 5). The incidence of severe ROP (defined as ETROP types 1 and 2) and low grade ROP was compared across the percentile groups using univariate logistic regression to compare severe and low grade ROP to no ROP.

Results : Of 1294 infants, 130 (10.0%) had severe ROP, 270 (20.9%) had low grade ROP, and 894 (69.1%) had no ROP. Among infants with severe ROP, 14 (10.8%), 13 (10.0%), 15 (11.5%), 71 (54.6%) and 17 (13.1%) were in groups 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 respectively based on birth weight percentile. Among infants with low grade ROP, 10 (3.7%), 19 (7.0%), 37 (13.7%), 167 (61.8%) and 37 (13.7%) were in groups 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 respectively based on birth weight percentile. As demonstrated in the Table, infants in group 1 had significantly higher odds of severe ROP (Odds Ratio [OR] 2.14, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.12-4.09, p = 0.0088) but not of low grade ROP (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.32-1.32, p = 0.5785) as compared to group 4.

Conclusions : Infants born at the lower extreme of the Fenton birth weight percentile are at significantly higher odds of developing type 1 or type 2 ROP.

This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.