Original ArticleFactors Associated with Failure to Screen Newborns for Retinopathy of Prematurity
Section snippets
Methods
This cross-sectional study used CPQCC data from 2005-2007. The CPQCC collects data in a prospective manner for neonates born at member hospitals in California. Membership is offered to any hospital in California that provides neonatal intensive care. During the study period, eligible patients were cared for in 126 member hospitals, representing more than 90% of NICUs. Data are abstracted by NICU personnel including physicians, nurses, and other trained data abstractors. Annual training sessions
Results
The final cohort eligible for the screening consisted of 13 282 infants with mean gestational age 28.1 weeks (SD 2.3 weeks) and 5th and 95th percentiles at 24 and 31 weeks, respectively. The eligible cohort had mean birth weight of 1101 g (SD 303 g) and 5th and 95th percentiles at 620 and 1545 g, respectively.
The rates of missed ROP screening decreased over time from 18.6% in 2005 to 12.8% in 2007 (P < .0001). Individual hospital screening rates varied widely for all years. When examining
Discussion
Our study of California NICUs revealed that a significant number of eligible patients did not receive ROP screening as suggested by the guidelines developed by the AAP, AAO, and AAPOS. These findings are concerning, as screening identifies infants who should be treated, and the importance of treating ROP has been repeatedly demonstrated in improving structural and visual outcomes.7, 10, 16 We also identified several individual level risk factors that put patients at higher risk of missing
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Parents' Knowledge and Education of Retinopathy of Prematurity in Four California Neonatal Intensive Care Units
2018, American Journal of OphthalmologyHypothermia therapy for neonatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy in the state of California
2014, Journal of PediatricsCitation Excerpt :There is also the potential for differences in categorization of level of encephalopathy compared with clinical trials because the diagnostic criteria for HIE was adopted from the Vermont Oxford Network. The sociodemographic characteristics of infants with HIE did not differ between hypothermia and normothermia groups, which is encouraging as new and evidence-based practices may sometimes find faster uptake in greater sociodemographic strata, thereby leading to disparities in health at a large population-based level.20,21 To maximize the effectiveness of hypothermia in the community, there is benefit in developing screening protocols of eligible infants with moderate or severe HIE at birthing hospitals across both urban and rural centers.
Retinopathy of prematurity
2014, Pediatric Clinics of North AmericaCitation Excerpt :Not only is there a grave risk of blindness when there is a delay in screening, referral, follow-up, diagnosis, or treatment, there is also a significant medicolegal risk to the physician and responsible hospital.46,47 Evidence has shown that regional hospitals and higher-level neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) with such a protocol in place have fewer missed ROP examinations.48 Maintaining a rigorous and safe ROP screening program is labor intensive.
The effectiveness of policy changes designed to increase the attendance rate for outpatient retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) screening examinations
2013, Journal of AAPOSCitation Excerpt :It is notable that despite new policies, 11 of 57 patients (19%) still did not attend their first outpatient appointment on the exact recommended date. Other studies have also identified children who missed screening examinations despite the best efforts of the institutions caring for them.7-9 Some factors affecting follow-up rates are outside of the control of medical providers, including distance from care providers, limited transportation, inclement weather, and changes in patient name and contact information.
Retinopathy of Prematurity in Very Low Birthweight Neonates of Gestation Less Than 32 weeks in Malaysia
2024, Indian Journal of Pediatrics
Supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (K23HD068400), NIH LRP (1 L40 EY021928-01), and NIH/NCRR/OD UCSF-CTSI (KL2 RR024130). Data management was funded in part by a community grant from the March of Dimes California Chapter. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding bodies. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.