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Advances in perinatal care have led to the increased survival of preterm infants with subsequent neonatal morbidities, such as retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). This study aims to compare the differences of neonatal healthcare systems, resources, and clinical practice concerning ROP in Asia with review of current literature. An on-line survey at the institutional level was sent to the directors of 336 neonatal intensive care units (NICU) in 8 collaborating national neonatal networks through the Asian Neonatal Network Collaboration (AsianNeo). ROP screening was performed in infants born at < 34 weeks in Indonesia and Japan. In South Korea, Malaysia, and Taiwan, most screened for ROP in infants born at < 32 weeks. In all networks, majority of NICUs conducted ROP screening to infants with birth weight < 1500 g. In most NICU's in-hospital ophthalmologists performed indirect ophthalmoscopy and some were supplemented with digital imaging. Both laser photocoagulation and anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injection are performed for treatment and, vitreous surgeries are conducted less frequently in all countries. Despite limited information collected by the survey, this first study to compare ROP practices implemented in eight Asian countries through AsianNeo will enable an understanding of the differences and facilitate quality improvement by sharing better practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the effects of direct swallowing training (DST) alone and combined with oral sensorimotor stimulation (OSMS) on oral feeding ability in very preterm infants.Design: Blinded, parallel group, randomised controlled trial (1:1:1).Setting: Neonatal intensive care unit of a South Korean tertiary hospital.Participants: Preterm infants born at <32 weeks of gestation who achieved full tube feeding.Interventions: Two sessions per day were provided according to the randomly assigned groups (control: two times per day sham intervention; DST: DST and sham interventions, each once a day; DST+OSMS: DST and OSMS interventions, each once a day).Primary Outcome: Time from start to independent oral feeding (IOF).Results: Analyses were conducted in 186 participants based on modified intention-to-treat (63 control; 63 DST; 60 DST+OSMS). The mean time from start to IOF differed significantly between the control, DST and DST+OSMS groups (21.1, 17.2 and 14.8 days, respectively, p=0.02). Compared with non-intervention, DST+OSMS significantly shortened the time from start to IOF (effect size: -0.49; 95% CI: -0.86 to -0.14; p=0.02), whereas DST did not. The proportion of feeding volume taken during the initial 5 min, an index of infants' actual feeding ability when fatigue is minimal, increased earlier in the DST+OSMS than in the DST.Conclusions: In very preterm infants, DST+OSMS led to the accelerated attainment of IOF compared with non-intervention, whereas DST alone did not. The effect of DST+OSMS on oral feeding ability appeared earlier than that of DST alone.Trial Registration Number: ClinicalTrials.gov Registry (NCT02508571). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]