Abstract
Purpose: To find the awareness of ROP among Neonatologists in Pakistan.Study Design: Quantitative and qualitative survey.Place and Duration of Study: National pediatric conference held at Lahore inMarch 2014.Material and Methods: A questionnaire was given to all the pediatricians andneonatologists at a national pediatric conference held at Lahore in March 2014.The answering pediatricians/neonatologists were divided into two groups. GroupI consisted of 28 pediatricians who had worked for less than 5 years, and ingroup II, there were 34 pediatricians who had worked for more than 5 years. Thisquestionnaire was especially constructed to assess knowledge, attitude, andpractice (KAP) of Retinopathy among participants attending the conference.Results: A total number of 62 pediatricians/neonatologists participated in thestudy Majority of the 58pediatricians (93%) had heard about retinopathy ofprematurity and 43 (69.4%) agreed that the infants must be checked for ROP. Afew participants 15 (24%) stated that there is a ROP screening criteria, 44 (71%)responded negatively and 3 (4.8%) responded that there may be a criteriapresent. Forty eight (77.4%) stated that they did not have an ophthalmologist forROP screening while 11 (17%) had an ophthalmologist. Thirty five (56.5%)agreed that there are treatment options for ROP but 20 (32.3%) were not sureabout such treatment options. Thirty two (51%) agreed that a patient should begiven reappointment within 3 days once he missed one. ROP was an importantissue for 40 (64%) of doctors while 16 (25%) were not sure about this. Therewas insignificant difference with respect to years of experience as pediatricianand the questions asked.Conclusion: ROP awareness should be raised at a national level to improve thedevelopment of ROP screening and treatment services in Pakistan.Keywords: Retinopathy of Prematurity, Awareness, Screening, Neonatologist.
