RESUMO

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a largely avoidable cause of blindness in children worldwide, requiring high-quality neonatal care, early detection and treatment. In middle-income countries throughout Latin America, Eastern Europe and South Asia, there has been a rise in ROP blindness due to a combination of increased survival of preterm infants, resource-scarce medical environments and lack of policies, training and human resources. However, Argentina is an example of country where rates of ROP blindness have declined and ROP programmes have been successfully and effectively embedded within the health and legal system. The purpose of this study is to describe the activities and stakeholders, including Ministry of Health (MoH) and UNICEF, involved in the process, from recognition of an epidemic of ROP blindness to the development of national guidelines, policies and legislation for control. Using a retrospective mixed methods case study design, data on rates of severe ROP was collected from 13 neonatal intensive care units from 1999 to 2012, and on the proportion of children blind from ROP in nine blind schools in seven provinces. Legislative document review, focus group discussions and key informant interviews were conducted with neonatologists, ophthalmologists, neonatal nurses, parents, MoH officials, clinical societies, legislators and UNICEF officials in seven provinces. Results are presented combining the stages heuristic policy framework and Shiffman including: agenda setting, policy formulation, implementation and evaluation. By 2012, ROP had declined as a cause of blindness in children in schools for the blind as had rates of severe ROP needing treatment in the NICUs visited. Multiple factors played a role in reducing blindness from ROP in Argentina and successfully coordinating its control including national advocacy, leadership, legislation and international collaboration. Lessons learned in Argentina can potentially be scaled to other LMICs in Latin America and beyond with further context-specific research.

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RESUMO

To describe the characteristics of infants with bilateral Stage 4b or 5 ROP (i.e. with subtotal or total retinal detachment) who presented to eye departments in two major cities in Mexico, to identify reasons why they may have become blind in order to recommend how programs could be improved. A large case-series of infants with Stage 4b or 5 ROP in both eyes confirmed by ultrasound who attended the ROP Clinic, Hospital Civil de Guadalajara from September 2010 to November 2012, and the Department of Ophthalmology, Hospital Infantil de Mexico Federico Gomez from December 2011 to December 2012 were identified from the diagnostic databases of each hospital. Mothers of infants in Guadalajara had a telephone interview. 89/94 eligible infants were included in the study, 48 in Guadalajara and 41 in Mexico City. Cases came from 22 of the 32 states in Mexico. Half of the infants attending Guadalajara 24/48 (50 %) had been cared for in NICUs without ROP screening programs and were not examined. Among the 24 infants cared for in NICUs with ROP programs, 7/24 (29.1 %) mothers reported that their infant had not been examined while in the NICU, and a further 9/24 (37.5 %) were either not referred for screening after discharge or they did not attend. Two infants had failed laser treatment. Strategies and resources to prevent end stage ROP have not been firmly established in Mexico. There is an urgent need to expand the coverage and quality of ROP programs, to ensure that existing screening guidelines are better adhered to, and to improve communication with parents.

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RESUMO

BACKGROUND: Increased survival of preterm infants in developing countries has often been accompanied by increased morbidity. A previous study found rates of severe retinopathy of prematurity varied widely between different neonatal units in Rio de Janeiro. Nurses have a key role in the care of high-risk infants but often do not have access to ongoing education programmes. We set out to design a quality improvement project that would provide nurses with the training and tools to decrease neonatal mortality and morbidity. The purpose of this report is to describe the methods and make the teaching package (POINTS of care--six modules addressing Pain control; optimal Oxygenation; Infection control; Nutrition interventions; Temperature control; Supportive care) available to others. METHODS/DESIGN: Six neonatal units, caring for 40% of preterm infants in Rio de Janeiro were invited to participate. In Phase 1 of the study multidisciplinary workshops were held in each neonatal unit to identify the neonatal morbidities of interest and to plan for data collection. In Phase 2 the teaching package was developed and tested. Phase 3 consisted of 12 months data collection utilizing a simple tick-sheet for recording. In Phase 4 (the Intervention) all nurses were asked to complete all six modules of the POINTS of care package, which was supplemented by practical demonstrations. Phase 5 consisted of a further 12 months data collection. In Phase 1 it was agreed to include inborn infants with birthweight ≤ 1500 g or gestational age of ≤ 34 weeks. The primary outcome was death before discharge and secondary outcomes included retinopathy of prematurity and bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Assuming 400-450 infants in both pre- and post-intervention periods the study had 80% power at p = < 0.05 to detect an increase in survival from 68% to 80%; a reduction in need for supplementary oxygen at 36 weeks post menstrual age from 11% to 5.5% and a reduction in retinopathy of prematurity requiring treatment from 7% to 2.5%. DISCUSSION: The results of the POINTS of Care intervention will be presented in a separate publication. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current Controlled Trials: ISRCTN83110114.

RESUMO

OBJECTIVES: The goals were to determine optimal screening criteria for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in 7 neonatal units in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and to explore the workload implications of applying different criteria. METHODS: Infants with birth weights of < or = 2000 g or gestational age of <37 weeks were examined by 3 ophthalmologists in 7 of the largest units in Rio de Janeiro, during a 34-month period. ROP was classified by using the international classification, and laser treatment was given to infants developing type 1 ROP. RESULTS: A total of 3437 (87%) of 3953 eligible infants were examined, of whom 124 (3.6% [range: 2.1%-7.8%]) were treated. Eleven infants were treated for aggressive posterior ROP. Appropriate screening criteria for the 2 NICUs with high survival rates (ie, > or =80% among infants with birth weights of <1500 g) would be < or =1500 g or <32 weeks. For NICUs with low survival rates (ie, <80%), appropriate criteria would be < or =1500 g or < or =35 weeks. UK, US, and previous Brazilian criteria would all miss infants needing treatment. CONCLUSIONS: ROP programs in Brazil should use the wider criteria of < or =1500 g or < or =35 weeks until further evidence-based criteria become available, although this would mean a slight increase in workload across the city, compared with use of the narrower criteria in the better units. Whether survival rates can be used as a proxy to indicate screening criteria requires further investigation.

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