Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate the nationwide incidence and treatment pattern of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in South Korea. Using the population-based National Health Insurance database (2007–2018), the nationwide incidence of ROP among premature infants with a gestational age (GA) < 37 weeks (GA < 28 weeks, GA28; 28 weeks ≤ GA < 37 weeks; GA28-37) and the percentage of ROP infants who underwent treatment [surgery (vitrectomy, encircling/buckling); retinal ablation (laser photocoagulation, cryotherapy)] were evaluated. We identified 141,964 premature infants, 42,300 of whom had ROP, with a nationwide incidence of 29.8%. The incidence of ROP in GA28 group was 4.3 times higher than in GA28-37 group (63.6% [2240/3522] vs 28.9% [40,060/138,442], p < 0.001). As for the 12-year trends, the incidence of ROP decreased from 39.5% (3308/8366) in 2007 to 23.5% (2943/12,539) in 2018. 3.0% of ROP infants underwent treatment (25.0% in GA28; 1.7% in GA28-37); 0.2% (84/42,300) and 2.9% (1214/42,300) underwent surgery and retinal ablation, respectively. The overall percentage of ROP infants who underwent treatment has decreased from 4.7% in 2007 to 1.8% in 2018. This first Korean nationwide epidemiological study of ROP revealed a decreased incidence of ROP and a decreased percentage of ROP infants undergoing conventional treatment during a 12-year period.
Highlights
The aim of this study is to investigate the nationwide incidence and treatment pattern of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in South Korea
In a Swedish national registry data, ROP was found in 31.9% of infants with a gestational age (GA) of < 31 weeks[9], whereas in England, a dataset derived from the National Health Service (NHS) database revealed that 12.6% of babies with birth weight (BW) less than 1500 g had ROP in 201110
In South Korea, the health security system provides healthcare coverage to all citizens, which has two components: National Health Insurance (NHI) and Medical Aid. > 97% of the population is covered by NHI, which is the single national insurance provider in South Korea and a compulsory health insurance, and the remaining 3% of the population is covered by the Medical Aid program, a public assistance program providing healthcare for the poor[25]
Summary
The aim of this study is to investigate the nationwide incidence and treatment pattern of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in South Korea. Using the population-based National Health Insurance database (2007–2018), the nationwide incidence of ROP among premature infants with a gestational age (GA) < 37 weeks (GA < 28 weeks, GA28; 28 weeks ≤ GA < 37 weeks; GA28-37) and the percentage of ROP infants who underwent treatment [surgery (vitrectomy, encircling/buckling); retinal ablation (laser photocoagulation, cryotherapy)] were evaluated. A recent study in Taiwan reported an ROP incidence of 36.6% among premature infants with LOS of more than 28 days using the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD)[8]. In a Turkish neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) network, any stage of ROP was seen in 27–30% of infants with BW ≤ 1500 g, GA ≤ 32 weeks or with an Department of Ophthalmology, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. 5These authors contributed : Eun Hee
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