Related Experiment Videos
Retinopathy of prematurity in middle-income countries
C Gilbert1, J Rahi, M Eckstein
1Department of Preventive Opthalmology, Institute of Ophthalmology, London, UK.
Insights
Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a growing cause of childhood blindness in middle-income nations. This preventable condition is increasingly seen in premature infants receiving neonatal intensive care.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatric Medicine
- Public Health
Background:
- Historically, retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) was a leading cause of childhood blindness in industrialized nations.
- Current data on ROP's contribution to childhood blindness in developing countries is limited.
- Schools for the blind offer a potential resource for assessing childhood blindness causes in these regions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the proportion of childhood blindness and severe visual impairment attributed to ROP in countries without established blindness registers.
- To assess the current global impact of ROP on pediatric visual impairment.
Main Methods:
- A standardized examination was conducted on 4121 children with visual acuity worse than 6/60 in the better eye.
- Data was collected from children attending schools for the blind across 23 countries between 1991 and 1996.
Main Results:
- The prevalence of severe visual impairment or blindness due to ROP varied significantly across the studied countries.
- While ROP accounted for 0% of cases in most African nations, it was responsible for up to 38.6% of cases in Cuba.
Conclusions:
- The findings indicate that ROP is emerging as a significant cause of preventable childhood blindness in middle-income countries.
- This trend is associated with the implementation of neonatal intensive care services for preterm and low-birthweight infants.
Background:
In the 1940s and 1950s retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) was the single commonest cause of blindness in children in many industrialised countries; it now accounts for only 6-18% of blindness registrations. It is not known what proportion of blindness is due to ROP in countries that do not have blindness registers. Information on blindness in children in these countries can be obtained by examining children in schools for the blind.
Methods:
Between 1991 and 1996, 4121 children in 23 countries with a visual acuity in the better eye of less than 6/60 were examined with a standard method.
Findings:
The proportion of severe visual impairment or blindness due to ROP ranged from 0% in most African countries to 38.6% in Cuba.
Interpretation:
These data suggest that ROP is becoming a major cause of potentially preventable blindness among children in middle-income countries that have introduced neonatal intensive-care services for preterm and low-birthweight babies.