@article {1573103, title = {Nationwide incidence and treatment pattern of retinopathy of prematurity in South Korea using the 2007-2018 national health insurance claims data}, journal = {Sci Rep}, volume = {11}, number = {1}, year = {2021}, month = {2021 Jan 14}, pages = {1451}, abstract = {The aim of this study is to investigate the nationwide incidence and treatment pattern of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in South Korea. Using the population-based National Health Insurance database (2007-2018), the nationwide incidence of ROP among premature infants with a gestational age (GA) \< 37\ weeks (GA \< 28\ weeks, GA28; 28\ weeks <= GA \< 37\ weeks; GA28-37) and the percentage of ROP infants who underwent treatment [surgery (vitrectomy, encircling/buckling); retinal ablation (laser photocoagulation, cryotherapy)] were evaluated. We identified 141,964 premature infants, 42,300 of whom had ROP, with a nationwide incidence of 29.8\%. The incidence of ROP in GA28 group was 4.3 times higher than in GA28-37 group (63.6\% [2240/3522] vs 28.9\% [40,060/138,442], p \< 0.001). As for the 12-year trends, the incidence of ROP decreased from 39.5\% (3308/8366) in 2007 to 23.5\% (2943/12,539) in 2018. 3.0\% of ROP infants underwent treatment (25.0\% in GA28; 1.7\% in GA28-37); 0.2\% (84/42,300) and 2.9\% (1214/42,300) underwent surgery and retinal ablation, respectively. The overall percentage of ROP infants who underwent treatment has decreased from 4.7\% in 2007 to 1.8\% in 2018. This first Korean nationwide epidemiological study of ROP revealed a decreased incidence of ROP and a decreased percentage of ROP infants undergoing conventional treatment during a 12-year period.}, issn = {2045-2322}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-021-80989-z}, author = {Hong, Eun Hee and Shin, Yong Un and Bae, Gi Hwan and Choi, Youngjin and Ahn, Seong Joon and Sobrin, Lucia and Hong, Rimkyung and Kim, Inah and Cho, Heeyoon} }