The safety and feasibility of the screening for retinopathy of prematurity assisted by telemedicine network during COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, China

BMC Ophthalmology

Zheng Guo¹  Shilian Li¹  Yixuan Wu¹  Nan Ma¹  Hua Yuan¹  Hong Jie¹  Wanjun Luo²  Lingkong Zeng³ 

[1]Department of Ophthalmology, Wuhan Children’s Hospital (Wuhan Maternal and Child Healthcare Hospital), Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, 430016, Wuhan, China

[2]Department of infection management, Wuhan Children’s Hospital (Wuhan Maternal and Child Healthcare Hospital), Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, 430016, Wuhan, China

[3]Department of neonatology, Wuhan Children’s Hospital (Wuhan Maternal and Child Healthcare Hospital), Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, 430016, Wuhan, China

关键词: Retinopathy of prematurity;    Screening;    COVID-19;    Telemedicine;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12886-021-02018-x

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundDuring the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, due to the traffic blockade and the shortage of medical resources, more and more premature infants could not receive timely and effective ROP screening, which delayed treatment and even caused children blindness. Therefore, how to carry out ROP screening safely and effectively during the epidemic was very important and urgent. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and feasibility of ROP screening assisted by telemedicine network during COVID-19 outbreak.MethodsThis retrospective study was conducted at Wuhan Children’s hospital in Wuhan, China, from January to October, 2020. The measures which were performed to make the ROP screening more safe and effective were summarized and the comparison between ROP screening assisted by telemedicine network in 2020 and usual screening in 2019 were analyzed.ResultsA total of 267 outpatient infants completed ROP screening. The median gestational age was 32 weeks (30w to 34w) and the median birth weight was 1780 g (1460 g to 2100 g). Meanwhile, 149 (55.8%) out of 267 infants were males. During January to May in 2020, 86 screening appointments were received, among which 67 (77.9%) were from telemedicine platform online. The completing percentage of total online ROP appointments was higher than that of total face-to-face appointments (58.1% VS 22. 1%, P = 0.018). As for the number of infants screened between 2020 and 2019 from Februaryto October, 54 infants completed ROP screening in 2020, which was higher than that (51participants) in 2019 on September. Furthermore, compared with the usual screening in 2019, ROP screening assisted by telemedicine network in 2020 had smaller gestational age (32w VS 33w, p<0.001) and lower birth weight (1780 g VS 1900 g, p = 0.001). However, of the 267 infants screened, 18(6.7%) had ROP while the percentage of ROP screened in 2019 was the same (44[6.7%]). During follow-up, none of medical staffs was infected and no adverse reaction was reported.ConclusionsThe screening for retinopathy of prematurity assisted by telemedicine network was safe and feasible during the COVID-19 pandemic. Preventive measures before and after screening were very necessary, which could effectively avoid cross infection.

【 授权许可】

CC BY