Transcutaneous oxygen monitoring and retinopathy of prematurity.

This study was performed to determine whether the use of continuous tcPO2 monitoring could reduce the incidence of ROP in preterm infants receiving oxygen therapy. Two hundred and ninety-six infants with birth weights less than or equal to 1300 grams were randomly assigned to a continuous monitoring (CM) or a standard care (SC) group. CM infants had tcPO2 monitored continuously as long as they required supplemental oxygen while SC infants had tcPO2 monitored only during the more acute state of their illness. Management of both groups was otherwise identical. One hundred and one of 148 infants in the CM and 113 of 148 patients in the SC groups survived. Mean birth weights and gestational age were similar in both groups. Duration of mechanical ventilation and oxygen therapy was also similar. The overall incidence of ROP was 51% in the CM and 59% in the SC group. As birth weight for infants greater than or equal to 1000 grams increased a higher risk for developing ROP was noted in the SC group. Four infants in the CM and 5 in the SC group developed cicatricial ROP. These results suggest that continuous tcPO2 monitoring may reduce the incidence of ROP in infants with birth weights greater than 1000 grams, but not in the smaller infants in whom this complication occurs more frequently and is more severe.