Out of 396 babies born, 39 were found to be suffering from advanced stages of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), revealed Noida based eye hospital during a screening.

The Noida based ICARE eye hospital conducted eye screening of 396 premature and low-birth-weight babies born in various hospitals in Noida between January and September 2022 who were found to be suffering from ROP and saved 39 babies from going blind.

On World Sight Day, the doctors informed that ROP is a disease that would have led to blindness in just three to four weeks after birth if not detected and treated in time.

As per studies from different states in India, almost 10 to 15% of all premature babies are detected with advanced ROP.

Babies born with this condition can turn blind in less than a month after birth. This is tragic as the disease can be easily treated by eye doctors if detected immediately after the baby is born.

Dr. Saurabh Choudhry, CEO, ICARE Eye Hospital said: “Retinopathy of Prematurity carries a very serious risk of blindness. About 200,000 pre-term babies born in India every year are at risk of developing retinopathy of prematurity. About 5,000 of them go blind due to this entirely preventable cause of childhood blindness.”

He added: “Premature delivery, low birth weight, multiple pregnancies, respiratory distress, NICU admission, and unregulated oxygen therapy are important risk factors for ROP. An eye checkup done within 4 to 6 weeks after the birth of a premature baby can identify this disease.”

India accounts for the highest number of premature births in the world (3.5 million). About one in six (about 600,000) children out of these are born at 32 weeks or less gestational age. Estimating that 40% of these receive neonatal care and 80% of them survive, about200,000 children are at the risk of developing ROP in India every year.

If 10% of them develop treatable ROP, the number of newborns needing ROP management is at least 20,000 every year.

ROP is a sight-threatening disease of the retina that can lead to permanent blindness if left untreated.

It occurs due to abnormal proliferation of developing retinal blood vessels in premature and infants with low birth weight. In its severe form, ROP causes total retinal detachment, leading to blindness. ROP occurs due to premature delivery, so it is not preventable.

However, with timely intervention (within a few weeks of birth), it can be cured, and permanent vision loss prevented. Treatment of ROP includes laser therapy and intravitreal injections. In severe cases, vitreoretinal surgery is recommended.