Current practices and profiles of ophthalmologists involved in retinopathy of prematurity care in Brazil.

ABSTRACT

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) care in Brazil varies in availability of resources and infrastructure. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among ophthalmologists of the Brazilian ROP Group (BRA-ROP) to assess the profiles and practices of ophthalmologists involved in ROP care. A total of 78 responses of BRA-ROP participants (79%) were included. Participants were mostly retina experts (64.1%), female (65.4%), and over 40 years of age (60.2%). Eighty-six percent reported following Brazil's ROP screening criteria. Retinal imaging is available to 16.9% of respondents; fluorescein angiography, to 1.4%. For ROP stage 3 zone II (with plus disease), laser treatment was the preferred treatment (78.9%); for aggressive ROP, anti-VEGF was favored (66.2%). There were significant regional differences in treatment choice. Not all respondents continued to follow treated patients after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit, highlighting an aspect of ROP care in need of improvement.