Review of treatments for retinopathy of the premature in Africa

Abstract

Aims/Purpose: Retinopathy of premature is currently one of the biggest causes of childhood blindness in the world. Its prevention and control has been widespread, although many underdeveloped countries face numerous difficulties in controlling it. To summarize the treatments types and methods of screening in Africa.Methods: A systematic review of studies carried out in Africa using the statistical program R was performed, for data collection the Boolean operators (and, or) and mesh words (treatment, retinopathy of the premature and Africa) were used on the platforms of pubmed and google academic. 27 studies were found, 6 were clinical trials, with only 4 studies included in the meta‐analysis.Results: the risks for developing retinopathy of premature are the premature birth of the baby and the lack of adequate monitoring during the incubation period. In African countries with published studies, the most used treatment methods are non‐invasive ventilation and the injection method of bevacizumab.Conclusions: Low birth weight and lower gestational age are directly related to the risk of developing retinopathy in the baby, bevacizumab is the most effective method reported so far and the best screening method for this pathology is based on the algorithm of birth weight.