Early Hydrocortisone Use and Severe Retinopathy of Prematurity in Very Low Birth Weight Infants

Bum-Jun Kim, Yu-Mi Seo, Sook-Kyung Yum, In-Kyung Sung and Young Ah Youn

Department of Pediatrics, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Republic of Korea

^*Correspondance to: YoungAh Youn 

 PDF  Full Text DOI: 10.25107/2474-1647.2599

Abstract

Aim: To examine an association between early postnatal hydrocortisone (≤ 1 week of life) exposure and increased development of severe Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) in Very Low Birth Weight Infants (VLBWI). Methods: Between Jan 2012 and Dec 2015, the clinical data of 279 VLBWI admitted were analyzed. Of a total 279 VLBWI, 28.0% (78/279) had ROP, and 16.8% had severe ROP; 20 (7.1%) neonates eventually underwent a laser operation for progressive ROP. Results: VLBWI exposed to early postnatal hydrocortisone ≤ 1 week of life had higher hospital morbidities. Severe ROP occurred significantly more in the group exposed to early postnatal hydrocortisone. However, the multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that early postnatal hydrocortisone use was not consistently associated with severe ROP. Conclusion: The use of early postnatal hydrocortisone may be a marker for the severity of illness due to prematurity.

Keywords

Steroid; Retinopathy of prematurity; Outcomes; Risk factor

Cite the article

Kim B-J, Seo Y-M, Yum S-K, Sung I-K, Youn YA. Early Hydrocortisone Use and Severe Retinopathy of Prematurity in Very Low Birth Weight Infants. Clin Surg. 2019; 4: 2599..