Comparative study on the incidence of retinopathy of prematurity in premature infants born in the hospital and transported from other hospitals

Objective To explore the incidence, diagnosis and treatment of retinopathy of prematurity(ROP) in preterm infants born in the Guangdong Women and Children′s Hospital and transported from other hospital. Method s Clinical data of 755 premature infants with ROP at Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Guangdong Women and Children′s Hospital from January 2013 to December 2015 were retrospectively analyzed.There were 239 cases born in the hospital and 516 cases transported from other hospitals.Their gestational age, birth weight, gender, severity of ROP lesion and clinical data were collected and compared. Result s The birth weight in the group of transported from other hospital was lower than that in the group of born in the hospital[(1 290.64±392.87) g vs.(1 586.21±512.74) g], and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.001). The ROP diagnosis of gestational age in the group of transported from other hospital was higher than that in the group of born in the hospital[(35.53±2.81)weeks vs.(34.51±2.17)weeks], and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.001). On the proportion of severe condition [such as lesion area Ⅰ, aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity(AP-ROP) and plus combined lesions], in the group of transported from other hospital was higher than that in the group of born in the hospital, and the differences was statistically significant(P<0.001). In the comparison of the proportion of laser photocoagulation, vitreous injection, combination of the two operations and supplementary laser therapy, in the group of transported from other hospital were higher than those in the group of born in the hospital[60.1%(310/516 cases) vs.20.9%(50/239 cases); 10.9%(56/516 cases) vs.2.5%(6/239 cases); 8.1%(42/516 cases) vs.1.7%(4/239 cases); 4.5%(23/516 cases) vs.1.3%(3/239 cases)], and the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.001). Conclusions Premature infants with ROP transported from other hospitals have lower birth weight, severe ROP lesions and high surgical intervention rate.Improving ROP screening level in primary hospitals, timely diagnosis and efficient transportation can help to effectively prevent the deterioration of ROP in premature infants and improve their quality of life. Key words: Retinopathy of prematurity; Infant, preterm; Transport