Arterial oxygen fluctuation and retinopathy of prematurity in very-low-birth-weight infants

Objective: To determine the influence of arterial oxygen fluctuation on development of threshold ROP. Study Design: Retrospective study of 231 infants ≤ 1500 g birth weight, who were admitted to Arkansas Children's Hospital NICU from January 1993 to June 1995. Fluctuation in partial pressure of dissolved arterial oxygen (PaO2) was expressed as coefficient of variation (CoV) for each infant. We investigated the relationship between CoV at three intervals and the risk of developing threshold ROP. Results: The odds ratio (OR) of developing threshold ROP versus prethreshold ROP or less associated with a 10% increase in the CoV during the first 5 days of oxygen therapy was 1.44, and during the first 10 days was 1.51. When analysis was restricted to infants receiving 30 days of therapy, the OR during the first 5 days of therapy was 1.67, during the first 10 days was 1.82, and during days 11-30 was 1.68. Conclusions: Very-low-birth-weight infants experiencing fluctuating PaO2 are at higher risk of threshold ROP. © 2004 Nature Publishing Group All rights reserved.