1992/07/01 by A R Fielder, Alistair R. Fielder, M I Levene
Medicine · #Retinopathy of Prematurity Studies #Neonatal Respiratory Health Research #Preterm Birth and Chorioamnionitis
paper · pdf · doi:10.1136/adc.67.7_spec_no.860
The demise of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) was confidently forecast in the 1950s when supplemental oxygen was identified as a causal factor. Unfortunately this did not transpire and by the mid-1960s it became all too apparent that ROP was not solely of historical interest. The purpose of this article is to consider screening for ROP working on the basis that at present this condition is not entirely preventable, and that despite meticulous neonatal care, serious and blinding disease still occurs.1 As in the past the ophthalmologist could neither prevent nor treat ROP, effectively all responsibilities for this condition, including its medicolegal aspects, rested with issues related to causa- tion. The results of the Multicenter Trial of Cryotherapy for Retinopathy of Prematurity have changed all that.24 After more than 20 years of inconclusive studies, retinal ablative treatment has been shown to significantly reduce the unfavourable outcome of severe disease, both in terms of the retinal appear- ance and visual function.24 Screening has now become a vital practical issue.