Retinopathy in premature infants

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is found in about 30% of premature infants with a birth weight < 1500 g and/or a gestational age < 32 weeks. Many risk factors are directly or indirectly involved in the development of ROP. The younger the child and therefore the more immature at birth, the greater the risk of ROP leading to short-sightedness or blindness. As a result of advances in obstetric and neonatal care, more immature and extremely low birth weight infants survive, and thorough ophthalmological screening for ROP is therefore essential. Timely detection (ROP stage 3) enables treatment with cryotherapy or laser therapy. Although the rate of success has increased with these forms of treatment, about 40% of the treated children retain a serious visual handicap. In the Netherlands, this involves about 10 children each year. At a later age, prematurely born children have a higher risk of developing other ophthalmologic problems such as strabismus, amblyopia and refractive errors. Again, timely detection and treatment reduces the risk of permanent visual disability.