What are the outcomes of ROP?

Asked by: Ms. Helena Stamm III  |  Last update: June 29, 2025
Score: 4.8/5 (44 votes)

Individuals with ROP require lifelong ophthalmology follow-up, as premature children with useful vision may develop ocular morbidities in later life. These morbidities include myopia, anisometropia, traction of retina, retinal detachment, strabismus, and amblyopia.

What are the outcomes of retinopathy of prematurity?

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a blinding morbidity of preterm infants, which represents a significant clinical problem, accounting for up to 40% of all childhood blindness. ROP displays a range of severity, though even mild disease may result in life-long visual impairment.

What are the consequences of ROP?

ROP occurs when these vessels actually stop growing for a time, then begin growing abnormally and randomly. The new vessels are fragile and can leak, leaving the retina scarred. In the worst-case scenario, the retina detaches (tears away from the back wall of the eye) and puts the baby at high risk of becoming blind.

What is the prognosis for ROP?

Up to 90% of babies with ROP get better without treatment and have normal vision. However, the condition can sometimes get worse and threaten a baby's vision. In these cases, timely treatment is necessary to prevent permanent retinal damage and vision loss. Without treatment, advanced ROP can lead to blindness.

What is the success rate of ROP?

The milder forms of ROP have a regression rate of up to 94.11% with laser, while more severe forms including APROP may show good regression with laser in only about 54.16% of eyes.

An Update on ROP Diagnosis, Treatment and Outcomes

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Can ROP resolve itself?

Symptoms. In 85% to 90% of cases, ROP of milder severity resolves on its own, with no meaningful impact on vision. If ROP progresses to an advanced stage, an infant may: Not respond appropriately to light.

Is ROP a rare disease?

About Retinopathy of prematurity

Population Estimate:Fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S. have thisdisease.

When is a premature baby out of danger?

26 weeks: 8 out of 10 babies survive. Out of those that survive, 1 in 10 will have severe disability such as cerebral palsy, learning difficulties and problems with hearing and vision. 27 to 30 weeks: Approximately 9 in 10 babies survive and the risk of severe disability reduces with increasing gestation.

Is ROP a disability?

Neurodevelopmental disability (NDD) and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) are the most common complications of prematurity. In fact, ROP is the second leading cause of childhood blindness in the world.

What is the main cause of ROP?

What is retinopathy of prematurity? Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is an eye disease that can happen in babies who are premature (born early) — or who weigh less than 3 pounds at birth. ROP happens when abnormal blood vessels grow in the retina (the light-sensitive layer of tissue in the back of your eye).

Do babies with ROP need glasses?

Fortunately, many of these conditions can be treated with glasses, vision therapy, specialized eye drops and/or surgery— though early detection is key.

When do premature babies start to smile?

When the age of onset of smiling was calculated in number of weeks from conception, the preterm and full-term infants both began to smile at approximately 44–45 weeks. However, in terms of chronological age, the preterms began to respond socially in this way much later than the full-terms.

Is ROP hereditary?

Such influences were recently confirmed in a retrospective study of monozygotic and dizygotic twins. Taking into account the effect of gestational age and the duration of supplemental oxygen use, the investigators showed that 70% of the variance in susceptibility to ROP was the result of genetic factors alone.

What are the consequences of retinopathy of prematurity?

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is an eye disease that can happen in premature babies. It causes abnormal blood vessels to grow in the retina, and can lead to blindness.

Is retinopathy of prematurity progressive?

Retinopathy of prematurity is a progressive disease. It starts slowly, usually anywhere from the fourth to the tenth week of life, and may progress very fast or very slowly through suc- cessive stages, from Stage 1 through Stage 5.

What is the greatest risk factor for retinopathy of prematurity?

Lower gestational age, male sex, small for gestational age, patent ductus arteriosus, late onset sepsis, more than two blood transfusions, use of inotropes and outborn statues were associated with an increased risk of severe ROP.

Do premature babies have eye problems later in life?

Children born prematurely are more likely than children born on time to have vision problems.

Does ROP go away?

ROP may go away on its own as an infant grows. But as the infant grows, they should be seen by an ophthalmologist regularly. Sometimes urgent treatment is needed to prevent blindness. If not treated in time, the child can have severe permanent vision loss or even go blind.

When do preemies catch up developmentally?

Also, by 2 years of age, most children have caught up to the typical milestone range. If your child has not caught up, they may need extra support for a longer period.

Which condition is considered the most extreme case of prematurity?

The most extreme issues occur in babies born at less than 28 weeks. These are cases of extreme prematurity. They often weigh less than two pounds at birth.

Are preemie babies gifted?

(Reuters) - A study following more than 1.3 million premature babies born in Florida found that two-thirds of those born at only 23 or 24 weeks were ready for kindergarten on time, and almost 2 percent of those infants later achieved gifted status in school.

What is aggressive ROP?

Aggressive posterior retinopathy of prematurity (APROP) is characterized by severe plus disease, flat neovascularization in zone 1 or posterior zone 2, intraretinal shunting, hemorrhages, and a rapid progression to retinal detachment.

Is ROP a gene or not?

We have isolated mutations in the Rop gene and find that the extracellular accumulation of a number of normally secreted cellular products fails to occur in null mutant animals, which subsequently die at a late embryonic stage.

How do you treat ROP in newborns?

Injections. A medication that slows blood vessel growth is often the best treatment for ROP. This injection can be done at your child's hospital bed. This therapy is very effective and isn't painful.