POOR POSTNATAL WEIGHT GAIN AS A PREDICTOR OF RETINOPATHY OF PREMATURITY

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Neonatology
• Pediatrics

Background:

• Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a significant cause of visual impairment in premature infants.
• Current screening criteria for ROP in Croatia include gestational age (GA) and birth weight (BW).

Purpose of the Study:

• To re-evaluate existing ROP screening cut-off values in Croatia.
• To propose postnatal weight gain as an additional screening criterion for ROP.
• To adapt the Colorado Retinopathy of Prematurity prediction model for the Croatian population.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of medical records of 267 premature infants screened for ROP at Zagreb University Hospital Centre (2009-2010).
• Data collected included gestational age, birth weight, sex, weekly weight measurements, and fundus examination records.
• Analysis focused on identifying correlations between weight gain and ROP development.

Main Results:

• Existing GA and BW cut-off values for ROP screening in Croatia were deemed appropriate.
• Postnatal weight gain in the first 28 days can serve as an additional screening criterion.
• A net weight gain of ≤932 g predicted any ROP, while ≤660 g predicted severe ROP, when added to GA (≤32 weeks) and/or BW (≤1500 g).

Conclusions:

• Postnatal weight gain is a valuable supplementary criterion for ROP screening in Croatia.
• The proposed criteria require further validation in a larger cohort of Croatian infants.
• This study is the first in Croatia to propose postnatal weight gain for ROP screening.