Retinopathy of prematurity in small-for-gestational age infants compared with those of appropriate size for gestational age.

AIM: To compare the incidence of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in small-for-gestational age (SGA) infants compared with appropriate-for-gestational age (AGA) infants undergoing eye screening in the Lothian region of south east Scotland 1990-2004.

METHODS: All infants in Lothian born with birth weight <1500 g and/or gestational age <32 weeks underwent eye screening by two experienced paediatric ophthalmologists. The presence of any stage of ROP (1-5), severe (stage 3 or greater) ROP and treated ROP was compared between the SGA and AGA infants using chi(2) or Fisher exact tests. SGA was defined as birth weight below the 10th centile for gestational age.

RESULTS: A total of 1413 babies with birth weights <1500 g and/or gestational age <32 weeks underwent eye screening; 329 (23%) were SGA. SGA infants born at gestational ages 26-31 weeks were more likely to develop any stage of ROP (p<0.01) than their AGA peers. SGA infants were also more likely to develop severe ROP (gestational age 26-27 weeks, p<0.01; 28-29 weeks, p = 0.01; 30-31 weeks, p = 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS: SGA infants who underwent eye screening in the Lothian region of south east Scotland from 1990 to 2004 were significantly more likely to develop ROP and more severe disease than AGA infants.