Retinopathy of Prematurity in Very Low Birth Weight Infants: Effects of Serum Vitamin A and Clinical Parameters

Pur po se: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a proliferative vascular disease which affects premature newborns and occurs during vessel development. The pathogenesis of ROP is complex and includes oxidative damage to the developing retina. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship of ROP with serum vitamin A levels and clinical parameters in infants with a gestational age of ≤32 weeks and birth weight of ≤1500 grams. Ma te ri al and Met hod: Newborns admitted to Newborn Intensive Care Unit within the first 24 hours of life, with gestational age ≤ 32 weeks, birth weight ≤1500 grams, without any major congenital anomalies, inborn error of metabolism or prior history of blood/blood products transfusion were included in the study. The patients were divided into two groups, ROP (+) and ROP (-), according to the presence of ROP at any stage. Serum vitamin A levels and gender, type of delivery, birth weight, gestational age, duration of hospitalization and oxygen supply, multiple gestation, preeclampsia, PDA, sepsis and intraventricular hemorrhage of the groups were compared with Mann-Whitney U and chi-square tests. Re sults: The mean gestational age of these infants was 29.2±2.0 weeks and the mean birth weight was 1287±197 grams. ROP was diagnosed in 48% of infants and the mean serum vitamin A level was 0.56±0.45 μmol/L. In 44 cases (84%), vitamin A level was determined low (