Incidence and Prevalence of Retinopathy of Prematurity in a Tertiary Care Centre of North India.

The goal of the current study was to shed light on the previous research on retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) among infants born before 34 weeks of gestation or those with birth weights (BW) under 2000 g and gestational ages between 34 and 36 weeks, with emphasis on prevalence and incidence. A prospective hospital based observational study was conducted on 160 neonates after ethical clearance within a period of four months. The study population comprised neonates less than 34 week of gestational age and those with BW less than 2000 gm and gestational age between 34-36 weeks. Categorical/nominal variables were expressed as number and percentage and were analysed using Chi square test or Fischer exact test. Continuous variables were expressed as mean and standard deviation. Relevant statistical software like SPSS (Statistical Sciences Package for Social) were used for all statistical analysis. Screening of all 160 neonates included in the present study revealed the presence of ROP in 30 of them, with a rate of 18.8% for ROP. Most of the neonates screened for ROP were delivered at a gestational age of 33-34 weeks (56.9%), followed by 30-32 weeks (28.8%); 16 (10%) neonates were delivered at gestational age <30 weeks, while seven (4.4%) had >34 weeks. Among the 30 neonates with ROP, 10 (33.3%) were delivered at gestational age <32 weeks and 20 (66.7%) at gestational age >32 weeks. A significant association was found between gestational age <32 weeks and occurrence of ROP (p=0.044). Among the 30 neonates with ROP, 24 (80%) had a BW of <1500 g and six (20%) >1500 g. Birth weight of <1500 g and occurrence of ROP (p <0.001) were found to be significantly associated. Most of the neonates screened for ROP were delivered at gestational age of 33-34 weeks (56.9%), followed by 30-32 weeks (28.8%). Gestational age of <32 weeks (p=0.044) and BW of <1500 g (p <0.001) were significantly associated with the occurrence of ROP.