Retinopathy of Prematurity in Nepal

Retinopathy of prematurity is emerging as an important cause of childhood ocular morbidity in developing country like Nepal. We carried out a prospective cohort study to find out incidence and severity of ROP in Nepalese children. This study also helped us set our won criteria for screening premature babies at risk. ROP was found in 25.5% of children out of which 5.45 % had Threshold disease. Low birth weight and gestational age were significantly associated with severity of ROP. Oxygen was an independent risk factor. This book gives an insight on retinopathy of prematurity with special focus on its situation in Nepal. All babies with gestational age of 34 wks or less and weighing 1500 gram or less should undergo screening examination for retinopathy of prematurity. Raising awareness among the pediatricians and the care givers about timely detection and intervention of the disease is crucial in avoiding childhood blindness due to ROP.