Incidence and Risk Factors for Retinopathy of Prematurity in North of Iran

PURPOSE: To report the incidence and risk factors for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) among preterm infants referred to Amiralmomenin Eye Hospital, Rasht, Iran. METHODS: This cross-sectional retrospective study included all preterm infants with birth weight ≤2500 g and/or gestational age ≤36 weeks who had been referred to our facility for ROP screening over a five year period from September 2005 to September 2010. Possible risk factors and findings related to eye examinations were extracted and analyzed. RESULTS: Among 310 infants, ROP was diagnosed in 64 (20.6%) of referred preterm infants (95% CI: 17.7%-23.5%); these included stage I in 48%, stage 2 in 29%, and stage 3 or higher disease in 23% of subjects. Mean gestational age (GA) and birth weight (BW) in the ROP–affected infants was 30.18 ± 2.28 weeks and 1,422.8 ± 420.8 g, respectively. Low BW, low GA, oxygen therapy, phototherapy, blood transfusion and apnea were risk factors for ROP. After logistic regression analysis, only low GA and low BW were independently associated with the condition. CONCLUSION: ROP is a relatively common finding in preterm infants of Guilan Province in the North of Iran. Low BW and low GA were significant risk factors for the disease.