Comorbidities and care procedures related with retinopathy of prematurity development

Abstract

Objective: to describe the main comorbidities and care procedures related with the development of Retinopathy of Prematurity in Premature Newborns hospitalized in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Material and Method: quantitative observational study, with documentary data collection, obtained from 181 hospital records of premature newborns, referring to the period from January 2014 to June 2016, in a medium-sized municipality in Paraná. Statistical analysis was descriptive and inferential. The study was approved in Ethical Research Committee. Results: Respiratory diseases (41.99%; p-value < 0.109) prevailed, followed by comorbidity sepsis (63.54%; p-value < 0.357). Eighty babies (44.20%; p-value < 0.001) required blood transfusion, and 152 (83.98%; p-value < 0.001) used oxygen therapy. Retinopathy of prematurity prevailed in moderate preterm infants (44%), with grade 3 being the most severe found. Conclusion: respiratory diseases, sepsis and procedures such as blood transfusion, oxygen therapy and intravenous catheterization influenced the presence of the disease, with a higher incidence in moderate preterm infants.

Keywords

• neonatal nursing
• premature newborn
• retinopathy of prematurity
• neonatal intensive care