Validation of the Postnatal Growth and Retinopathy of Prematurity (G-ROP) screening criteria

Abstract Background: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a leading cause of irreversible blindness in infants. The Postnatal Growth and ROP (G-ROP) study proposed new screening criteria for ROP. This study aimed to validate the G-ROP screening criteria in a group of Iranian premature infants who were treated in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for at least ۴۰ days. Methods: In this retrospective study, we extracted the data pertaining to infants admitted to the NICU from January ۲۰۲۰ to December ۲۰۲۱. We screened all the included infants for ROP based on the Iranian national screening criteria. We applied the G-ROP criteria to our study population, and if no criterion was met, the infant was exempted from ROP screening. We determined the sensitivity and specificity of the G-ROP guidelines for ROP detection, along with its capacity for predicting the requirement for ROP treatment. Moreover, we compared the G-ROP guidelines with the Iranian and North American guidelines for ROP screening. Results: A total of ۱۶۶ premature infants with complete datasets were included: ۱۳۰ had ROP, of whom ۶۱ were treated. There were ۱۰۹ female infants (۶۵.۷%). The mean (standard deviation [SD]) birth weight and gestational age were ۱۰۸۰ (۲۵۶) g and ۲۸.۲۸ (۱.۹۷) weeks, respectively. Applying the G-ROP criteria, ۱۲۷ of ۱۳۰ infants with ROP were identified (sensitivity, ۹۷.۶۹%; ۹۵% confidence interval [CI], ۹۵.۱۱% – ۱۰۰%), and of ۳۶ infants without ROP, three were correctly excluded (specificity, ۸.۳۳%; ۹۵% CI, ۰% – ۱۷.۳۶%). The G-ROP criteria did not fail to identify infants who required treatment for ROP (sensitivity, ۱۰۰%; ۹۵% CI, ۹۸.۲۹ – ۱۰۰) and had a specificity of ۸.۶۹% (۹۵% CI, ۲.۰۴% – ۱۵.۳۴%). Although the Iranian and North American criteria had ۱۰۰% sensitivity for infants with any stage of ROP, they could not detect infants without ROP (۰% specificity). Conclusions: The G-ROP screening criteria had a sensitivity of ۱۰۰% in identifying infants requiring treatment for ROP in our high-risk group; however, specificity was not sufficiently high. Further studies with larger numbers of referred infants could confirm a decrease in the burden of retinal examinations using these criteria.