RETINOPATHY OF PREMATURITY - REVIEW OF A 7-YEAR PERIOD IN A DANISH NEONATAL INTENSIVE-CARE UNIT

In the period 1985-1991, 21675 infants were born at the University Hos pital of Copenhagen, Hvidovre Hospital, Denmark. Two hundred and twent y-four infants (10.3%) with birth weights less than or equal to 1500 g and gestational ages, less than or equal to 32 completed weeks were t ransferred to the neonatal intensive care unit of the hospital. One hu ndred and eighty survived to at least 8 weeks of age and 170 had eye e xaminations. Forty-five of the 170 infants examined (26.5%) had retino pathy of prematurity (ROP) and 18 (40%) of these developed blindness o r severely impaired vision, a higher incidence than reported in other studies. Significant differences were found between infants with and w ithout ROP for: birth weight, gestational age, Apgar score at 1 min, r esuscitation, ventilator treatment, duration of supplementary oxygen, severe complications in the neonatal period and sequels from the centr al nervous system. Statistical analyses, corrected for correlations, s howed that the occurrence of ROP was related significantly to early in tubation, hypotension, persistent ductus arteriosus and necrotizing en terocolitis.