A Review on Postnatal Growth and Retinopathy of Prematurity Algorithm (G-ROP) for screening of Retinopathy of Prematurity

Background: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a disease of preterm infants with incomplete retinal vascular development and remains a major cause of childhood blindness worldwide despite advances in neonatal care. Early detection in high-risk infants is essential. ROP is a biphasic fibrovascular disorder, beginning with vascular arrest followed by pathological neovascularization. Major risk factors include low birth weight, low gestational age, fluctuating oxygen exposure, respiratory distress, cardiopulmonary instability, neonatal sepsis, and blood transfusion. Objective: This article aimed to throw the light on pathophysiology, risk factors, screening, and management of retinopathy of prematurity. Methods: We searched Science Direct, Google Scholar and PubMed using validated and recent studies for Preterm neonate, Retinopathy of prematurity, Screening, and Postnatal growth. Documents written in languages other than English were ignored due to lack of translation funds. Unpublished works, oral presentations, conference abstracts, and dissertations were excluded. Conclusion: As Egypt is part of the third ROP epidemic, there is an urgent need for effective screening and preventive strategies where multiple screening models have been developed to improve sensitivity, specificity, and clinical applicability. Ultimately, effective screening for ROP and the optimization of therapeutic interventions to prevent blindness require a profound understanding of the underlying pathophysiology and the consistent identification of high-risk neonates through appropriately timed ophthalmic evaluations. ？