Incidence and risk factors of retinopathy of prematurity in Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital: a baseline prospective study.

Objective: To determine the incidence of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and any associated risk factors among preterm infants at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH).
Design: Prospective study.
Setting: Level 3 NICU of KBTH from June 2018 to February 2019.
Participants: Eligible infants with birth weight (BW) less than 2 kg or gestational age (GA) less than 37 weeks were examined at scheduled intervals until full maturity of their retina.
Outcome Measures: The primary outcome measure was cumulative incidence of ROP and secondary outcome measure was risk factors associated with ROP.
Results: Of the 401 infants, 222 were females (55.4%), mean±SD GA was 32.3±2.4 weeks (median 32, IQR 31 to 34) and mean BW 1.6±0.4 kg (median 1.5, IQR 1.3 to 1.9). The cumulative incidence of ROP was 13.7% (95% CI: 10.5 to 17.5%), with 1.8% (seven infants) having type 1 ROP. Increased risk of ROP was observed in babies with supplemental oxygen exposure (p<0.001), BW less than 1.5 kg (p=0.019), confirmed neonatal sepsis (p=0.001), nasogastric tube feeding (p=0.03) and poor pupillary dilation (0.032). A reduced risk of ROP was observed in boys (p=0.004) and after delivery by caesarean section (p=0.019).
Conclusion: The rates of ROP at KBTH are comparable to other NICUs in sub-Saharan Africa. Birth weight less than 1.5 kg, confirmed neonatal sepsis, nasogastric tube feeding and poor pupil dilation were independently associated with increased incidence of ROP. ROP screening should be a part of the routine service for premature infants in Ghana.
Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared.
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