The incidence of retinopathy of prematurity in a neonatal care unit.

In India, with advancement in neonatal care units, a large number of low-birth weight premature babies are now surviving and are at risk of developing retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). However, there are not enough reports on the incidence of ROP in this country. To determine the incidence of ROP in a prospective manner, 165 babies weighing < or = 1700 gm over a period of one year were examined. An incidence of 47.27% of ROP at the mean age of 7.21 +/- 0.3 weeks of life was detected. The maximum stage reached was stage 1 in 28 (16.97%), stage 2 in 29 (17.58%), stage 3 in 19 (11.52%) and stage 4b in 2 (1.21%) babies. Plus disease was present in 17 (10.3%) babies. Babies with lower birth weights and lower gestation age at birth had a significantly higher (p = < 0.05) incidence of ROP. However, the difference in mean birth weight and gestation age at birth for various stages of ROP was not significant (p = > 0.05). Thus, we recommend screening for all babies weighing < or = 1700 gm.