Retrospective Validation of the Postnatal Growth and Retinopathy of Prematurity (G-ROP) Criteria in a Japanese Cohort

We aimed to externally validate the performance of new screening criteria for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) developed in the Postnatal Growth and Retinopathy of Prematurity (G-ROP) study among a Japanese cohort. Validation of screening criteria. We reviewed premature infants screened for ROP between September 2009 and May 2017 at a single institution. The G-ROP criteria, except hydrocephalus, were applied as a prediction model for infants with both a known outcome of ROP and serial measurements of weight gain. We assessed sensitivity and specificity for treatment-requiring ROP, and reduction in the number of infants who receive ROP screening and in the number of retinal examinations. Of 692 premature infants screened for ROP, 537 had information of ROP outcome and weight gain. In this cohort, 81 infants required treatment for ROP; in 218 infants, ROP regressed spontaneously; and 238 infants did not develop any ROP. The G-ROP model reached a sensitivity of 100% (95% confidence interval [CI], 95.4%-100%) and specificity of 28.9% (95% CI, 24.9%-33.2%). No infants required any treatment for ROP before the date of risk determination. The number of infants requiring screening and the number of examinations would have been reduced by 24.5% and 12.9%, respectively. This is the first validation study of the G-ROP criteria in a developed country other than North America. The criteria demonstrated high sensitivity in this Japanese cohort, even though the criterion of hydrocephalus was excluded.