Analysis of Current Status and Strategies of Retinopathy of Prematurity Screening during 6 Years in Local Regions of China: Implication and Caution

Purpose: to understand the current status of retinopathy of prematurity (rop) screening in a province of north china. methods: we retrospectively analyzed 5651 cases with rop screening in the provincial screening center of hebei province from january 2008 to december 2013. results: 14.98% of all rop patients and 1.56% of severe rop patients required treatment. all the severe rop patients met the criteria of screening. severe rop patients were detected at recommended initial screening time (4-6 weeks after birth). the frequency of other ocular diseases was 8.03%,in which the main disease was fundus hemorrhage. in 2665 more mature and unqualified infants,only 2 retinoblastoma and 2 familial exudative vitreoretinopathy were detected,which indicates the advantage of early diagnosis and treatment based on fundus examination. conclusions: it is suggested that the standard of ga < 32 weeks and/or bw < 1800 g could be served as the screening criteria in the local region for rop screening. 4 weeks after birth is the most appropriate time for initial screening. © 2014 lu chen et al.