Contribution of early glycemic status in the development of severe retinopathy of prematurity in a cohort of ELBW infants

Objective:the objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between glycemic status and severe retinopathy of prematurity (rop).study design:this is a retrospective cohort study of 114 infants <1000 g admitted to a level iv neonatal intensive care unit within 48 h of life. a cumulative, time-weighted glucose level (twgl) derived from plotting glucose values over time was included in logistic regression analysis to identify predictors for severe rop.result:infants had 26.6±2 weeks gestational age and had a birth weight of 782±136 g. twgl during first 10 and 30 days of life were greater in the severe rop group (p<0.01). unlike single events of glucose levels ⩾150 mg dl−1, 10 days twgl ⩾100 mg dl−1 (odds ratio (or) 5.2, p<0.02) and 30 days twgl ⩾118 mg dl−1 (or 5.7, p<0.02) were predictors for severe rop (univariate). multivariate regression confirmed 30 days twgl ⩾118 mg dl−1 (or 9.4 to 10) and gram-positive sepsis (or 4.1 to 5) as predictors for severe rop (p<0.05).conclusion:high overall glycemic status is associated with the development of severe rop.