Validation of the Postnatal Growth and Retinopathy of Prematurity Screening Criteria

Importance: The first Postnatal Growth and Retinopathy of Prematurity Study (G-ROP-1) developed new screening criteria with 100% sensitivity for type 1 retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and 30% reduction of infants requiring examinations in a retrospective development cohort of 7483 infants from 29 North American hospitals in 2006-2012. Infants meeting 1 or more of the following criteria undergo examinations: gestational age less than 28 weeks or birth weight less than 1051 g; weight gain less than 120 g during age 10 to 19 days, weight gain less than 180 g during age 20 to 29 days, or weight gain less than 170 g during age 30 to 39 days; or hydrocephalus. Objective: To evaluate the generalizability of the G-ROP screening criteria in a new cohort of at-risk infants. Design, Setting, and Participants: This prospective validation cohort study (G-ROP-2) was conducted at 41 hospitals in the United States and Canada (25 G-ROP-1 hospitals and 16 new hospitals) from September 8, 2015, to June 13, 2017, among 3981 premature infants at risk for ROP and with known ROP outcomes. Main Outcomes and Measures: Sensitivity for Early Treatment for Retinopathy of Prematurity Study type 1 ROP and potential reduction in infants receiving examinations. Results: Among the 3981 infants in the study (1878 girls and 2103 boys; median gestational age, 28 weeks [range, 22-35 weeks]; median birth weight, 1072 g [range, 350-4080 g]; 1966 white; 942 black; 321 Latino; 120 Asian; 22 Native Hawaian or Pacific Islander; and 25 American Indian or Alaskan Native), the G-ROP criteria correctly predicted 219 of 219 cases of type 1 ROP (sensitivity, 100%; 95% CI, 98.3%-100%), while reducing the number of infants undergoing examinations by 35.6% (n = 1418). In a combined G-ROP-1 and G-ROP-2 cohort of 11463 infants, the G-ROP criteria predicted 677 of 677 cases of type 1 ROP (sensitivity, 100%; 95% CI, 99.4%-100%), reducing the number of infants receiving examinations by 32.5% (n = 3730), while current criteria (birth weight <1501 g or gestational age ≤30 weeks 0 days) predicted 674 of 677 type 1 cases (sensitivity, 99.6%; 95% CI, 98.7%-99.8%). Conclusions and Relevance: This study found that the G-ROP screening criteria were generalizable on validation and, if used clinically in the United States and Canada, could reduce the number of infants receiving examinations. The large G-ROP cohorts provide evidence-based screening criteria that have higher sensitivity and higher specificity (fewer infants receiving examinations) for type 1 ROP than currently recommended guidelines..