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Inexperienced examiners may overlook ROP, study says
Retina. 2010;30(6):958-965.
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Although retinal fellows frequently were able to identify retinopathy of prematurity and were generally aware of when treatment was required, a lack of definitive diagnostic acumen could lead to undermanagement or undertreatment, according to a study.
In the study, 804 retinal images from 248 eyes of 67 premature infants were uploaded to a study website; a pediatric retinal specialist and seven retinal fellows then independently provided a diagnosis for each eye. Mean sensitivity for fellows identifying type 2 or worse ROP was 0.751 and mean specificity was 0.841. For diagnosis of ROP that required treatment, mean sensitivity was 0.914 and mean specificity was 0.871.
While the results were encouraging, the researchers noted that three of seven residents achieved less than 80% sensitivity of grade 2 or worse ROP, and two of seven achieved less than 90% sensitivity for diagnosis of ROP that required treatment.
"This has implications for clinical ROP management and raises potential concerns about the quality of ROP examinations performed by inexperienced examiners. These findings suggest a need for more formalized ROP training protocols," the study authors wrote.
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