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AimsTo determine the ophthalmological outcome at 6.5 years of age in children treated for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and registered in the national Swedish National Register for ROP register.MethodsData on ROP, treatment and ophthalmological outcome were retrieved from the register. Visual acuity (VA), refractive errors and strabismus, together with visual impairment (VI) and any significant eye problem, defined as VA >0.5 logarithm of the minimal angle of resolution (logMAR) and/or strabismus and/or any refractive error were analysed. Risk factors such as sex, gestational age (GA), birth weight SD score, number of treatments and retreatments, postnatal age and postmenstrual age at first treatment were analysed.ResultsFollow-up data were available in 232 of 270 children born between 2007 and 2014 who had been treated for ROP. VI (VA >0.5 logMAR) was found in 32 (14%), strabismus in 82 (38%), refractive errors in 114 (52%) and significant eye problem in 143 (65%) children. Retreatment was a risk factor for VI and refractive errors. Male sex and neonatal brain lesion were risk factors for strabismus. An additional week of GA at birth reduced the risk for refractive errors, strabismus and significant eye problems.ConclusionThe results of the present study revealed a high number of eye problems in children treated for ROP, emphasising the need for long-term follow-up. Retreatment of ROP was a risk factor for VI, and emphasises the importance of an accurate first treatment for the long-term ophthalmological outcome.

IMPORTANCE: The prognostic impact of parenteral nutrition duration (PND) on retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is not well studied. Safe prediction models can help optimize ROP screening by effectively discriminating high-risk from low-risk infants. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prognostic value of PND on ROP; to update and validate the Digital ROP (DIGIROP) 2.0 birth into prescreen and screen prediction models to include all ROP-screened infants regardless of gestational age (GA) and incorporate PND; and to compare the DIGIROP model with the Weight, IGF-1, Neonatal, and ROP (WINROP) and Postnatal Growth and ROP (G-ROP) models. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This retrospective study included 11 139 prematurely born infants from 2007 to 2020 from the Swedish National Registry for ROP. Extended Poisson and logistic models were applied. Data were analyzed from August 2022 to February 2023. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Any ROP and ROP requiring treatment were studied in relation to PND. ROP treatment was the outcome in DIGIROP models. Sensitivity, specificity, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, and adjusted OR (aOR) with 95% CI were the main measures. Internal and external validations were performed. RESULTS: Of 11 139 screened infants, 5071 (45.5%) were girls, and the mean (SD) gestational age was 28.5 (2.4) weeks. ROP developed in 3179 infants (29%), treatment was given in 599 (5%), 7228 (65%) had PND less than 14 days, 2308 (21%) had PND for 14 days or more, and 1603 (14%) had unknown PND. PND was significantly correlated with ROP severity (Spearman r = 0.45; P < .001). Infants with 14 days or more of PND vs less than 14 days had faster progression from any ROP to ROP treatment (adjusted mean difference, −0.9 weeks; 95% CI, −1.5 to −0.3; P = .004). Infants with PND for 14 days or more vs less than 14 days had higher odds of any ROP (aOR, 1.84; 95% CI, 1.62-2.10; P < .001) and of severe ROP requiring treatment (aOR, 2.20; 95% CI, 1.73-2.80; P < .001). Among all 11 139 infants, the DIGIROP 2.0 models had 100% sensitivity (95% CI, 99.4-100). The specificity was 46.6% (95% CI, 45.6-47.5) for the prescreen model and 76.9% (95% CI, 76.1-77.7) for the screen model. G-ROP as well as the DIGIROP 2.0 prescreen and screen models showed 100% sensitivity on a validation subset (G-ROP: sensitivity, 100%; 95% CI, 93-100; DIGIROP prescreen: sensitivity, 100%; 95% CI, 93-100; DIGIROP screen: sensitivity, 100%; 95% CI, 93-100), whereas WINROP showed 89% sensitivity (95% CI, 77-96). Specificity for each prediction model was 29% (95% CI, 22-36) for G-ROP, 38% (95% CI, 32-46) for DIGIROP prescreen, 53% (95% CI, 46-60) for DIGIROP screen at 10 weeks, and 46% (95% CI, 39-53) for WINROP. CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE: Based on more than 11 000 ROP-screened infants born in Sweden, PND of 14 days or more corresponded to a significantly higher risk of having any ROP and receiving ROP treatment. These findings provide evidence to support consideration of using the updated DIGIROP 2.0 models instead of the WINROP or G-ROP models in the management of ROP.

Background/AimsRetinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is currently diagnosed through repeated eye examinations to find the low percentage of infants that fulfil treatment criteria to reduce vision loss. A prediction model for severe ROP requiring treatment that might sensitively and specifically identify infants that develop severe ROP, DIGIROP-Birth, was developed using birth characteristics. DIGIROP-Screen additionally incorporates first signs of ROP in different models over time. The aim was to validate DIGIROP-Birth, DIGIROP-Screen and their decision support tool on a contemporary Swedish cohort.MethodsData were retrieved from the Swedish national registry for ROP (2018–2019) and two Swedish regions (2020), including 1082 infants born at gestational age (GA) 24 to <31 weeks. The predictors were GA at birth, sex, standardised birth weight and age at the first sign of ROP. The outcome was ROP treatment. Sensitivity, specificity and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) with 95% CI were described.ResultsFor DIGIROP-Birth, the AUC was 0.93 (95% CI 0.90 to 0.95); for DIGIROP-Screen, it ranged between 0.93 and 0.97. The specificity was 49.9% (95% CI 46.7 to 53.0) and the sensitivity was 96.5% (95% CI 87.9 to 99.6) for the tool applied at birth. For DIGIROP-Screen, the cumulative specificity ranged between 50.0% and 78.7%. One infant with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome who fulfilled criteria for ROP treatment and had no missed/incomplete examinations was incorrectly flagged as not needing screening.ConclusionsDIGIROP-Birth and DIGIROP-Screen showed high predictive ability in a contemporary Swedish cohort. At birth, 50% of the infants born at 24 to <31 weeks of gestation were predicted to have low risk of severe ROP and could potentially be released from ROP screening examinations. All routinely screened treated infants, excluding those screened for clinical indications of severe illness, were correctly flagged as needing ROP screening.

Background/AimsPrematurely born infants undergo costly, stressful eye examinations to uncover the small fraction with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) that needs treatment to prevent blindness. The aim was to develop a prediction tool (DIGIROP-Screen) with 100% sensitivity and high specificity to safely reduce screening of those infants not needing treatment. DIGIROP-Screen was compared with four other ROP models based on longitudinal weights.MethodsData, including infants born at 24–30 weeks of gestational age (GA), for DIGIROP-Screen development (DevGroup, N=6991) originate from the Swedish National Registry for ROP. Three international cohorts comprised the external validation groups (ValGroups, N=1241). Multivariable logistic regressions, over postnatal ages (PNAs) 6–14 weeks, were validated. Predictors were birth characteristics, status and age at first diagnosed ROP and essential interactions.ResultsROP treatment was required in 287 (4.1%)/6991 infants in DevGroup and 49 (3.9%)/1241 in ValGroups. To allow 100% sensitivity in DevGroup, specificity at birth was 53.1% and cumulatively 60.5% at PNA 8 weeks. Applying the same cut-offs in ValGroups, specificities were similar (46.3% and 53.5%). One infant with severe malformations in ValGroups was incorrectly classified as not needing screening. For all other infants, at PNA 6–14 weeks, sensitivity was 100%. In other published models, sensitivity ranged from 88.5% to 100% and specificity ranged from 9.6% to 45.2%.ConclusionsDIGIROP-Screen, a clinical decision support tool using readily available birth and ROP screening data for infants born GA 24–30 weeks, in the European and North American populations tested can safely identify infants not needing ROP screening. DIGIROP-Screen had equal or higher sensitivity and specificity compared with other models. DIGIROP-Screen should be tested in any new cohort for validation and if not validated it can be modified using the same statistical approaches applied to a specific clinical setting.

Background/aimsDuring the last decade, improved neonatal care has resulted in increased survival of the most immature infants and improved health of more mature infants. We hypothesise that this has affected incidence and treatment of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), enabling guidelines for screening to be modified.MethodsIn Sweden, all infants with gestational age (GA) at birth ≤30 weeks are screened for ROP. Results are registered in a web-based register, Swedish National ROP Register, with a coverage rate of 97%. Incidence of ROP and frequency of treatment, aspects on natural course of ROP and number of examinations, are calculated in relation to GA at birth in infants born during 2008–2017.ResultsOf 7249 infants, 31.9% (2310) had ROP and 6.1% (440) were treated. No infant with GA 30 weeks was treated. Incidence of ROP remained similar, but frequency of treatment increased (p=0.023). Over time, GA and birth weight were reduced in infants with ROP and with treated ROP. In the most immature infants, postmenstrual age was lower and postnatal age was higher when any ROP and stage 3 ROP were first detected (p<0.001). At treatment, postmenstrual but not postnatal age of the infant was associated with GA (p<0.001). During the 10-year period, 46 038 examinations were performed.ConclusionModification of Swedish guidelines is proposed, including only infants with a GA of <30 weeks and postponing the first examination with 1 week in infants with GA 26–29 weeks. This would spare many infants from stressful examinations and reduce eye examinations with at least 20%.

OBJECTIVES To evaluate screening for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in Sweden and to investigate possible modifications of the present screening guidelines. METHODS Infants in Sweden with a gestational age (GA) of 31 weeks + 6 days or less are screened for ROP. Data from the Swedish national register for ROP (SWEDROP) during 2008 and 2009 were extracted and compared with a national perinatal quality register. RESULTS In SWEDROP, there were 1791 infants born before a GA of 32 weeks from January 1, 2008, through December 31, 2009. Another 70 infants were registered in the perinatal quality register but not in SWEDROP (dropout rate, 3.8% [70 of 1861 infants]). Seven infants died before termination of screening. In the final study cohort (1784 infants), 15.6% had mild ROP and 8.5% had severe ROP. Treatment was performed in 4.4% of the infants, none of whom had a GA at birth of more than 28 weeks. Nine infants with a GA of more than 28 weeks at birth developed stage 3 ROP, which regressed spontaneously. The total number of examinations was 9286 (964 in infants with a GA of 31 weeks), and the mean (range) number of examinations of each infant was 5.2 (1-30). CONCLUSIONS The SWEDROP, a quality register for ROP, has a national coverage (ie, participation) of 96%. Data from 2008 to 2009 show that it seems possible to reduce the upper limit for screening in Sweden by 1 week, including only infants with a GA of 30 weeks + 6 days or less. However, such a change should be combined with a strong recommendation to neonatologists to refer also severely ill and more “mature” infants.

OBJECTIVE To analyze screening for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) during a 3-year period in a national cohort of infants born before 27 weeks' gestation. METHODS A national prospective study of neonatal morbidity in extremely preterm infants was performed in Sweden between April 1, 2004, and March 31, 2007. Screening for ROP was to start in the fifth postnatal week and to continue weekly until complete vascularization of the retina or until regression of ROP. RESULTS The first eye examination was performed no later than the sixth postnatal week in 84.8% of 506 infants, and the last examination was performed at postmenstrual age (PMA) of 38 weeks or later in 96.2% of infants. The mean and median numbers of days between examinations in the total cohort were 8.6 and 7.9 days, respectively (range, 1-27.8 days), and the mean and median numbers of examinations were 12 and 10, respectively. Most infants were treated during a limited period (eg, at PMA of 39 weeks, 75.0% of infants had been treated). CONCLUSIONS The objective of screening for ROP is timely detection of ROP before reaching treatment of criteria, ie, type 1 ROP, according to the Early Treatment for ROP recommendations. In our population of infants born before 27 weeks' gestation, the first examination could safely be postponed until PMA of 31 weeks because the onset of ROP stage 3 did not occur before then and criteria for treatment were not reached before PMA of 32 weeks. Gestational age at birth and PMA at the time of examination should be considered when deciding when and where the next examination should be performed.Arch Ophthalmol. 2011;129(2):167-172--