Proportion of Retinopathy of Prematurity That Was Treated across Regions in the United States

Objectives Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is the leading preventable cause of blindness in children worldwide. Major eye and visual problems are strongly linked to ROP requiring treatment. Objectives of the study are to: (1) evaluate the trends and regional differences in the proportion of treated ROP, (2) describe risk factors, and (3) examine if treated ROP predicts mortality. Study Design Retrospective data analysis was conducted using the Kids' Inpatient Database from 1997 to 2012. ROP was categorized into treated ROP (requiring laser photocoagulation or surgical intervention) and nontreated ROP. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. Results Out of 21,955,949 infants ≤ 12 months old, we identified 70,541 cases of ROP and 7,167 (10.2%) were treated. Over time, the proportion of treated ROP decreased (p = < 0.001). While extremely low birth weight infants cared for in the Midwest was associated with treated ROP (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 29.05; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 10.64-79.34), black race (aOR = 0.57; 95% CI: 0.51-0.64) care for in the birth hospital (aOR = 0.44; 95% CI: 0.41-0.48) was protective. Treated ROP was not associated with mortality. Conclusion The proportion of ROP that is surgically treated has decreased in the United States; however, there is variability among the different regions. Demographics and clinical practice may have contributed for this variability.