Cengiz Gül, Havvanur Bayraktar, Yusuf Berk Akbaş
Comprehensive Medicine - 2025;17(4):259-264
Objective: T o investigate the impact of using United Kingdom (UK) or United States (US) criteria instead of T urkish criteria for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) screening on infants who require ROP treatment. Materials and Methods: Four hundred and twenty-two infants underwent ROP screening. ROP screening was performed in all infants with a gestational age of less than 34 weeks or a birth weight of less than 1,700 g. Gestational age, birth weight, stages of ROP , treatments administered, and treatment outcomes were documented. Results: ROP was diagnosed in 136 (32.2%) of 422 infants. Of these, 60 (14.2%) required treatment due to either type 1 ROP or aggressive ROP (A-ROP). If the UK screening criteria had been used, only 245 infants would have been screened, resulting in a 41.9% reduction compared to the screening criteria used in Türkiye. Thirteen (9.5%) cases of ROP developed in the 167 infants who were excluded from screening. Of these cases, five (8.3%) required treatment. If the screening criteria used in the US had been applied, the number of screened infants would have been reduced by 49.3% compared to the screening criteria used in Türkiye. Of the 208 infants who were not screened, 20 (14.7%) developed ROP , with 8 (13.3%) requiring treatment. Conclusion: The use of the US or UK screening criteria for ROP in our center has led to the underdiagnosis and undertreatment of ROP . Increased awareness of ROP in intensive care units may lead to further standardization of screening criteria and in the future.
