Prevalence of retinopathy of prematurity in Latin America

Juliana Zimmermann Carrion¹, João Borges Fortes Filho², Marcia Beatriz Tartarella³, Andrea Zin⁴, Ignozy Dorneles Jornada Jr^4
1Program for the Prevention of Blindness due to Retinopathy of Prematurity, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, ²Department of Ophthalmology, Medical School, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, ³Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, ⁴Departament of Neonatology, Instituto Fernandes Figueira, Rio de Janeiro, ⁵University Luterana do Brasil School of Medicine, Canoas, Brazil

Abstract: The purpose of this work was to review the studies published over the last 10 years concerning the prevalence of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in Latin American countries, to determine if there was an improvement in ROP prevalence rates in that period, and to identify the inclusion criteria for patients at risk of developing ROP in the screening programs. A total of 33 studies from ten countries published between 2000 and 2010 were reviewed. Prevalence of any ROP stage in the regions considered ranged from 6.6% to 82%; ROP severe enough to require treatment ranged from 1.2% to 23.8%. There was no routine screening for ROP, and there was a lack of services for treatment of the disease in many countries. Inclusion criteria for patients in the studies ranged between birth weight ≤1500 g and ≤2000 g and gestational age ≤32 and <37 weeks. Use of different inclusion criteria regarding birth weight and gestational age in several Latin American studies hindered comparative analysis of the published data. Highly restrictive selection criteria for ROP screening in relation to birth weight and gestational age should not be used throughout most Latin American countries because of their different social characteristics and variable neonatal care procedures. The studies included in this review failed to provide adequate information to determine if the prevalence of ROP has decreased in Latin America.

Keywords: retinopathy of prematurity, prevalence, incidence, Latin America