Clinical and demographic characteristics of babies treated for premature retinopathy

Purpose: Our study included patients who underwent laser photocoagulation (LFC) treatment for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), who did or did not develop ROP or who were spontaneously regressed between January 2014 and April 2022. It was aimed to evaluate the patients' birth weight (BW) and week of birth (WB), distribution according to years and referral centers, risk factors, clinical features and treatment results. Materials and Methods: Patients with similar BW and WB were divided into two groups as those treated with LFC and those followed without treatment. The clinical features, risk factors, examination findings, and treatment processes of all patients were retrospectively scanned from patient registration forms and information system. Results: The study included 462 eyes of 232 patients who were treated with LFC and 392 eyes of 196 patients who were followed up without treatment. The BW and WB of the two groups were similar, the was 27.21 ± 2.52, the WB was 962.25 ± 362.11 g in the LFC group, and the BW was 27.45 ± 1.71 weeks in the untreated group, and the WB was 961.92 ± 163.38 g (p>0.05 in all values). Postmenstrual week in which patients received LFC treatment was 37.57 ± 3.23 weeks. Oxygen therapy duration, invasive mechanical ventilator (IMV) use, APGAR 1st and 5th min score, need for resuscitation, respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), patent ductus arteriosum (PDA), intracranial hemorrhage (IH), ibuprofen use, hyperglycemia, sepsis, pneumonia, blood transfusion, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), total parenteral nutrition (TPN) treatment duration were higher in the LFC group, and preeclampsia was lower in the LFC group (p<0.05 in all values). Invasive mechanical ventilator use, IHR, RDS, APGAR 5th min score, and duration of TPN were seen as independent risk factors for LFC requirement in multivariate regression analysis (p<0.05 in all values). It was determined that complications developed in 25 (5.4%) of the treated eyes, and the most common complication was isolated hyphema (3%). Conclusion: Invasive mechanical ventilator therapy, IHD, RDS, APGAR 5th min score, and duration of TPN usage have been shown as the most important independent risk factors for the need for LFC therapy in premature infants. Although the screening criteria were expanded in the Turkish Retinopathy of Prematurity Guidelines updated in 2021, infants who fall outside the screening criteria in our country may need LFC treatment. Keywords: laser photocoagulation therapy, complication, retinopathy of prematurity, risk factors, screening, treatment time