Abstract
Purpose :
Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a leading cause of blindness worldwide. The Retinopathy of Prematurity Eradication – Save Our Sight (ROPE-SOS) group is an ROP telemedicine screening program in South India. Previous work from our group evaluated characteristics of infants that received laser treatment vs anti-VEGF injections. The purpose of this preliminary study is to evaluate progression vs regression of ROP in infants with treatment-requiring ROP by treatment type.
Methods :
Infants in rural India were screened for ROP by the ROPE-SOS mobile tele-screening team. Presence of ROP, zone, stage, plus disease, APROP, birth weight (BW), and gestational age (GA) were recorded. Infants that required treatment were transported to Aravind Eye Hospital where treatment was administered and documented. Treatment consisted of either anti-vascular endothelial grown factor (anti-VEGF) injection, laser or vitrectomy. Progression or regression of ROP was noted during follow up visits.
Results :
A total of 74 patients were treated for ROP with either bevacizumab (n= 40), laser (n= 31), vitrectomy (n=1), or a combination of these treatments (n=2). The average BW was 1315.3 ± 369.9 grams and the average GA was 30.3 ± 3.0 weeks. Out of 74 patients, 64 (86.4%) had regression of ROP, 6 patients (8.2%) had progression of ROP, and 4 patients (5.4%) had stable disease. 40 patients out of 74 were treated with only bevacizumab, and within this group, 36 patients (90%) had regression of ROP, 3 patients (7.5%) had progression of ROP, and 1 patient (2.5%) had stable disease. 31 patients out of 74 were treated with only laser, and in this subset, 22 patients (71.0%) had regression of ROP, 7 patients (22.6%) had progression of ROP, and 2 patients (6.4%) had stable disease.
Conclusions :
Over half of the patients in our study were treated with anti-VEGF injections. A majority of patients who were treated with either bevacizumab or laser had regression of ROP.
This is a 2020 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.