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Transcutaneous Microcirculatory Imaging in Preterm Neonates
Published on: December 31, 2015
[Retinopathy of prematurity in extremely low birth weight infants: a Tokyo multicenter study]
Miina Hiraoka1, Toyoko Watanabe, Tadashi Kawakami
1Department of Neonatology, Tokyo Metropolitan Bokutoh Hospital, Japan.
Insights
Increased survival rates in extremely low birth weight infants correlate with a higher incidence of severe retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) requiring laser treatment.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Ophthalmology
- Perinatal medicine
Context:
- Extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants (<1,000 g) have improved survival rates.
- Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a significant complication in premature infants.
- Neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) face challenges in managing ROP in ELBW survivors.
Purpose:
- To assess the impact of increased ELBW infant survival on ROP incidence.
- To determine changes in the frequency of laser treatment for ROP.
- To analyze ROP severity in relation to survival rates in ELBW infants.
Summary:
- A retrospective review of 122 ELBW infants (birth weight <1,000 g) from 16 Tokyo NICUs was conducted.
- The study found an 85.6% survival rate, with 86.1% developing ROP and 41.0% requiring laser treatment.
- ROP onset occurred at a median postmenstrual age of 32.5 weeks, with laser treatment initiated at 35.7 weeks.
Impact:
- Higher survival rates in ELBW infants are associated with an increased incidence of severe ROP.
- This suggests a need for enhanced ROP screening and management protocols for ELBW survivors.
- The findings highlight the evolving landscape of ROP in neonatal intensive care.
Objective:
To investigate how the increase in survival rate in extremely low birth weight (a birth weight of 1,000 g or less) infants had affected the incidence of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and the frequency of laser treatment.
Methods:
We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 122 surviving premature infants with birthweights less than 1,000 g to determine the severity of ROP observed at 16 neonatal intensive care units in Tokyo between April and October 2002.
Results:
The survival rate was 85.6%. The mean gestational age was 26.74 weeks and the mean birth weight was 782.25 g. One-hundred-and-five infants (86.1%) developed ROP, fifty (41.0%) received laser treatment, and six (4.9%) had retinal detachment. The median postmenstrual age (gestational age at birth plus chronological age in weeks, PMA) at the onset of ROP was 32.5 weeks, and the first laser treatment was performed at the median PMA of 35.7 weeks.
Conclusions:
In these extremely low birth weight infants, there was an increase in the survival rate and in the incidence of severe ROP that progressed to the stage that required treatment.
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