Impact of higher oxygen saturation levels on postnatal weight gain to predict retinopathy of prematurity.

Abstract

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is the leading cause of vision loss in children. A well-known risk factor for the development of ROP is duration of oxygen supplementation. Other postnatal factors have also been associated with ROP risk, including poor post-natal weight gain. The weight, insulin-like growth factor, neonatal retinopathy of prematurity (WINROP) algorithm predicts severe ROP based on postnatal weight gain and has been validated in several studies,1,2 including a high sensitivity for prediction of severe ROP in our local NICU populations. However, target oxygen saturation levels were subsequently increased in many NICUs based on results from the Neonatal Oxygen Prospective Meta-analysis (NeOProM) Collaboration, which showed statistically higher death and disability rates among preterm infants randomized to a lower oxygen-saturation target range (85 - 89%) versus a higher target range (91 - 95%),3 which may affect the incidence and severity of ROP4 as well as the validity of the WINROP algorithm. In 2018, Lundgren et al reported that the WINROP algorithm was no longer able to predict ROP requiring treatment at their institution after the implementation of higher target oxygen saturation levels, with a sensitivity of only 50%.5 The objective of this review was to evaluate WINROP's ability to identify infants at risk for severe ROP at our institution after target oxygen saturation levels were increased in 2014.