Retinopathy of prematurity in Pakistan

Screening guidelines for retinopathy of prematurity recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus suggest screening infants of birth weight of ≤1500 g and/or 32 weeks' gestational age or less. In developing and middle-income countries, ROP has been reported in older and/or heavier infants. We prospectively studied 172 infants of gestational age 36 weeks and younger and/or birth weight of ≤3000 g over a period of 16 months. ROP was identified in 4 infants >32 weeks of age, 1 infant having a birth weight of 2000 g. ROP was diagnosed in premature babies heavier than those seen internationally.