Journal of American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
Major articleTelemedicine screening for retinopathy of prematurity in developing countries using digital retinal images: A feasibility project
Section snippets
Subjects
Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval was obtained for the project at both participating institutions, and IRB-approved consent forms were developed, translated into Spanish, and back-translated as required by the IRB at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Parents of all eligible infants undergoing routine screening for ROP at the Hospital Nacional Edgardo Rebagliati Martins EsSalud in Lima, Peru, between April 4 and May 29, 2006, were asked to participate in this study. Babies were
Patient Data
During this 10-week feasibility study, 35 babies underwent at least one clinical diagnostic examination for ROP at the Hospital Nacional Edgardo Rebagliati Martins EsSalud. Of these babies, 28 (80%) were enrolled in this study. The remaining seven babies were not enrolled due to failure to obtain informed consent or unstable clinical condition as determined by clinical neonatologist staff. Among enrolled babies, mean birth weight of babies undergoing ROP screening was 1134 g (range, 530 g to
Discussion
The results of this study demonstrate the feasibility of remote evaluation for ROP using retinal images taken by trained local nonophthalmologist personnel in an MHDC. With instruction, nonophthalmologists familiar with handling small babies were able to acquire the necessary digital imaging and computer skills for obtaining and selecting high-quality retinal images of premature babies at risk for ROP. Using available technology and expertise, all retinal images obtained and saved by the nurse
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This work is supported in part by a grant from the University Research Fund from the University of Pennsylvania and a grant from the Global Initiative Fund, University of Pennsylvania.