Abstract:

Introduction: Most important factors in retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) are prematurity and oxygen toxicity although blood transfusions, insulin like growth factor-1 ( IGF-1), insulin like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) also have important roles. The objectives of this study were, to measure IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels in preterm newborns before and after blood transfusion and assess if the effect of transfusion in development of ROP is via these mediators, and to investigate whether IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels measured at 32 and 33 gestational age (GA) were different in preterm newborns with and without ROP. Material and Methods: Preterm newborns with gestational age ≤34 weeks were included and blood samples were obtained before and after red blood cell (RBC) transfusion. Results: Thirty newborns were included, 17 of whom had ROP ( stage 1: n=11, stage 2: n=5, stage 3: n=1). IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels did not change after RBC tranfusion. Excluding the patient with stage 3 ROP all ROP patients were referred as mild ROP. No difference was observed between IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels of the patients with and without mild ROP. Patients with mild ROP had significantly more number of transfusions. Conclusions: Erythrocyte transfusion increased the frequency of ROP, whereas IGFBP-3 and IGF-1 were not associated of ROP.

Keywords: