Risk of Development of Treated Retinopathy of Prematurity in Very Low Birth Weight Infants

Journal of Perinatology • September 2019

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Gonski S, Hupp S, Cotton CM, Clark R, Laughon M, Watt K, Hornik CP, Smith PB, Greenberg RG

Aim to quantify the risk of treatment for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) among infants meeting current U.S. screening guidelines. Among infants ≤1500 g birth weight or ≤30 weeks gestation screened for ROP from 2006-2015, we developed a risk prediction model to identify infants treated for ROP. Applied to 6,127 infants discharged in 2016, our model had 97.9% sensitivity, 63.3% specificity, positive predictive value of 4.0%, and negative predictive value of 99.9%. Large numbers of infants at low risk of developing ROP are required to undergo screening. Refining current ROP guidelines may reduce unnecessary examinations.

Insulin, Hyperglycemia, and Severe Retinopathy of Prematurity in Extremely Low-Birth-Weight Infants

American Journal of Perinatology March 2016

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Lee JH, Hornik CP, Testoni D, Laughon MM, Cotton CM, Maldonado RS, Belcastro MR, Clark RH, Smith PB

This study aimed to determine the association between hyperglycemia, insulin therapy, and severe retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in extremely low-birth-weight (ELBW) infants. Hyperglycemia alone was not associated with severe ROP in ELBW infants. However, researchers did observe a possible trend between the use of insulin and severe ROP.

Sildenafil and retinopathy of prematurity risk in very low birth weight infants

American Journal of Perinatology • February 2016

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Samiee-Zafarghandy S, van den Anker JN, Laughon MM, Clark RH, Smith PB, Hornik CP; Pharmaceuticals for Children Act – Pediatric Trials Network Administrative Core Committee.

We identified premature infants who were discharged from Pediatrix Medical Group neonatal intensive care units from 2003–2012 and who received an ophthalmologic exam. We matched each infant exposed to sildenafil prior to first eye exam to three non-exposed infants using propensity scoring to control for differences in baseline infant characteristics. We evaluated the association between sildenafil exposure and development of severe ROP using conditional logistic regression.