Search

Background The third epidemic of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) has majorly involved middle income countries in which tailored screening and local guidelines require development. The data regarding ROP prevalence and cutoff numbers for screening in Egypt are lacking. Methods Retrospective analysis of an independent screening effort spanning 2 years (February 2019 to February 2021) and involving 32 neonatal care units within Sharkia governorate, Egypt. Infants of gestational age (GA) ≤ 34 weeks and/or birth weight (BW) ≤ 2000 g were included, as well as those with unstable clinical course. Two eyecare centers located in Sharkia and Cairo governorates served as referral centers for any required interventions. Results Of the 276 screened infants, 133 (48.2%) had some form of ROP that was bilateral in 127 (95.5%) of them. Aggressive posterior ROP (AP-ROP) was detected in both eyes of 24 infants (8.7%). The median (IQR) GA of infants with ROP was 32 (30–34) weeks, and the median (IQR) BW was 1600 (1350–2000) g. Sixty-three infants (47.4%) required treatment. Of the total 84 eyes that primarily were treated, 73 (86.9%) received intravitreal ranibizumab, 8 (9.5%) underwent laser ablation therapy, and 3 eyes (3.6%) underwent surgery. Recurrence rate was 16.7% (14 eyes). Final outcome was favorable in 83 eyes (98.8%). Applying the American Academy criteria would have led to the missing of 36.8% of infants with ROP and 28.6% of those requiring treatment in our sample. Conclusion The incidence of both ROP and AP-ROP in the Egyptian rural setting appears to be in the high end of global reported rates. Prevention measures should urgently be planned and implemented.

Mohamed Salaheldeen Noor,1 Magdy Elbarbary,2 Sherif N Embabi,1 Mohamed A Zaki,1 Hisham Awad,1 Mariam Al-Feky1 1Ophthalmology Department, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt; 2Paediatrics Department, Ain Shams University, Cairo, EgyptCorrespondence: Mohamed Salaheldeen Noor, Ophthalmology Department, Ain Shams University, 22 Abdullah Ibn Eltaher street, Makram Edeid, Nasr city, Cairo, Egypt, Tel +201093769896, Email msn198840@gmail.comPurpose: To evaluate the retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) prevalence, risk factors and screening outcome in a tertiary hospital in Cairo, Egypt.Methods: A prospective observational study was done in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Ain Shams University Hospital. A total of 159 premature infants were screened for ROP based on the most inclusive criteria reported to date. Screening included premature infants with gestational age (GA) of ≤ 34 weeks or birth weight (BW) of ≤ 2000 grams, or GA > 34 weeks or BW > 2000 grams, with multiple co-morbidities. The prevalence of ROP, plus disease and their correlation with risk factors of interest were studied.Results: The GA of the included infants ranged from 27 to 36 weeks, mean (SD) 31.87 (± 1.81) weeks. The BW ranged from 640 to 3900 grams, mean (SD) 1784.71 (± 560.30) grams. The prevalence of ROP more than stage 0 was 25.8% (41 infants), 7.3% of the cases (11 infants) showed plus disease and 6.3% (10 infants) showed severe ROP requiring treatment. Of those, 2 cases (20%) fell outside the British Guideline’s criteria for Screening. There was a highly significant (p < 0.0001) correlation between ROP more than stage 0 and low GA, low BW, mechanical ventilation, respiratory distress syndrome, necrotizing enterocolitis, intraventricular haemorrhage, and blood transfusion. No significant correlation was found between appearance of ROP more than stage 0 and gender (p = 0.911), patent ductus arteriosus (p =0.187), or sepsis (p =0.998).Conclusion: ROP is a significant problem in the premature infants in Egypt. Extremely premature infants with lower BW are more prone to develop ROP. However, cases with higher GA and BW than mentioned in the British guidelines screening criteria especially with multiple comorbidities showed severe ROP requiring intervention, which implies the need to develop a screening guideline for the Egyptian population.Keywords: retinopathy of prematurity, screening, risk factors, epidemiology, prematurity

Mohamed Nowara,1,2 Yousef A Fouad,1,3 Ihab Abdel Aziz,1,4 Ahmed M Habib,1,3 Mariam Al-feky,1,3 Hisham Hassan1 1Al Mashreq Eye Center, Cairo, Egypt; 2Department of Ophthalmology, Electricity Hospital, Cairo, Egypt; 3Department of Ophthalmology, Ain Shams University Hospitals, Cairo, Egypt; 4Memorial Institute for Ophthalmic Research, Giza, EgyptCorrespondence: Yousef A FouadDepartment of Ophthalmology, Ain Shams University Hospitals, Ramses Street, 11517 Abbasiya, Cairo, EgyptTel +201063781237Email yousef.a.fouad@gmail.comBackground: Coats’ disease is a rare entity with retinal vascular telangiectasia that can progress to exudative retinal detachment, neovascular glaucoma, and a blind painful eye requiring enucleation. Despite recent therapeutic advances decreasing the need for enucleation, no consensus exists about the optimum management of exudative Coats’ disease. The use of intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agents as an adjunct to ablation therapy has been shown to achieve favorable outcomes, but some reports suggest an increased incidence of vitreoretinal (VR) fibrosis and tractional retinal detachment (TRD).Methods: We retrospectively reviewed records of patients presenting with exudative Coats’ disease (stages 2 and 3) from April 2016 till November 2020. Extracted data included clinical and radiological assessment, stage (Shields’ classification), interventions, and follow-up.Results: Sixteen eyes were included in the final analysis, of which 4 (25%) were stage 2 and 12 (75%) were stage 3. All eyes underwent intravitreal ranibizumab injection combined with ablation therapy, 14 (87.5%) underwent cryotherapy, 4 (25%) underwent laser ablation, 3 (18.75%) underwent external subretinal fluid drainage, and 3 (18.75%) underwent buckle or vitrectomy surgery. After a median follow-up of 16 months, 11 eyes (68.75%) had complete resolution, 4 (25%) had incomplete resolution, and only one (6.25%) progressed but did not require enucleation. Three eyes (18.75%) developed VR fibrosis, but none progressed to TRD.Conclusion: Combining intravitreal ranibizumab injection with ablation therapy is effective in managing exudative Coats’ disease. External drainage should be preserved for when ablation therapy is not feasible. Future prospective trials with pre-defined outcomes are required.Keywords: Coats’ disease, Leber’s miliary aneurysms, exudative retinal detachment, vascular endothelial growth factor, cryotherapy