Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Science Communicator Platform

Stay connected! Follow us on X network (Twitter):
Share this content! On (X network) By
Validation of the Postnatal Growth and Retinopathy of Prematurity (G-Rop) Screening Criteria Publisher



Fadakar K1 ; Abbas H1 ; Shahgoli SS1 ; Tuli S2 ; Farahani A1 ; Fooladi MI3 ; Taleghani NT4 ; Esfandiarifard S1 ; Roohipourmoallai R5 ; Davoudi S6 ; Chen J2 ; Shariati MK4 ; Karkhaneh R1 ; Ebrahimiadib N2
Authors
Show Affiliations
Authors Affiliations
  1. 1. Department of Ophthalmology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  2. 2. Department of Ophthalmology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, United States
  3. 3. Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh, PA, United States
  4. 4. Clinical Research Development Center, Mahdiyeh Educational Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
  5. 5. Department of Ophthalmology, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, United States
  6. 6. Department of Ophthalmology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States

Source: Medical Hypothesis# Discovery# and Innovation in Ophthalmology Published:2022


Abstract

Background: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a leading cause of irreversible blindness in infants. The Postnatal Growth and ROP (G-ROP) study proposed new screening criteria for ROP. This study aimed to validate the G-ROP screening criteria in a group of Iranian premature infants who were treated in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for at least 40 days. Methods: In this retrospective study, we extracted the data pertaining to infants admitted to the NICU from January 2020 to December 2021. We screened all the included infants for ROP based on the Iranian national screening criteria. We applied the G-ROP criteria to our study population, and if no criterion was met, the infant was exempted from ROP screening. We determined the sensitivity and specificity of the G-ROP guidelines for ROP detection, along with its capacity for predicting the requirement for ROP treatment. Moreover, we compared the G-ROP guidelines with the Iranian and North American guidelines for ROP screening. Results: A total of 166 premature infants with complete datasets were included: 130 had ROP, of whom 61 were treated. There were 109 female infants (65.7%). The mean (standard deviation [SD]) birth weight and gestational age were 1080 (256) g and 28.28 (1.97) weeks, respectively. Applying the G-ROP criteria, 127 of 130 infants with ROP were identified (sensitivity, 97.69%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 95.11% – 100%), and of 36 infants without ROP, three were correctly excluded (specificity, 8.33%; 95% CI, 0% – 17.36%). The G-ROP criteria did not fail to identify infants who required treatment for ROP (sensitivity, 100%; 95% CI, 98.29 – 100) and had a specificity of 8.69% (95% CI, 2.04% – 15.34%). Although the Iranian and North American criteria had 100% sensitivity for infants with any stage of ROP, they could not detect infants without ROP (0% specificity). Conclusions: The G-ROP screening criteria had a sensitivity of 100% in identifying infants requiring treatment for ROP in our high-risk group; however, specificity was not sufficiently high. Further studies with larger numbers of referred infants could confirm a decrease in the burden of retinal examinations using these criteria. © Author(s).