Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP)

Rop_4

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is an eye disease that can happen in premature babies. It causes abnormal blood vessels to grow in the retina, and can lead to blindness. There is an increase in ROP occurrence in Bangladesh as a result of the increased survival of low birth weight premature infants owing to the availability of advanced Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) service. Timely diagnosis and intervention is very crucial in ROP. If ROP is not diagnosed and treated timely, this will lead to permanent blindness and pose a significant burden for family, society and nation.

Risk factors:

  1. Birth weight <1500 gm
  2. Gestational age at birth <32–33 weeks
  3. who have been given high concentration of oxygen during the first 10 days of life.

Other factors such as respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, multiple blood transfusions, multiple births (twins/triplets), apneic episodes, Intraventricular hemorrhage increase risk of ROP.

RoP Screening:

All neonates weighing <2000 g and/or with a gestation <35 weeks.
Admitted to the NICU are being routinely screened for ROP.