Efficacy of oral Propranolol on treatment of retinopathy in premature infants born in Tabriz Alzahra Hospital

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine efficacy of oral propranolol on treatment of retinopathy in efficacy of oral propranolol on treatment of retinopathy in premature infants born in Tabriz Alzahra Hospital. Materials and Methods: In this double-blind randomized clinical trial study, 58 infants with ROP were enrolled. In the study group, oral propranolol 0.5 mg/kg was added to the standard treatment every 8 hours and the second group received standard treatment only. Treatment with oral propranolol continued until complete recovery of ROP or at most 90 days. Patients were examined weekly by a trained retinologist . The two groups were compared for improvement or progression to higher degrees of ROP and the need for invasive treatments and subsequent visual impairments ROP recurrence continued in the ophthalmologic examinations. Results: In the intervention group, ROP stage was about the same as that in the control group, with 55.1% of the patients in the intervention group and 51.7% in the control group were in stage II ROP but the progression rate to stage III ROP, were 31.1% in the control group and in intervention group were 6.9%. In patients receiving propranolol, only 2 patients needed invasive treatment, while those in the control group needed were 9 (p=0.009). The rate of ROP improvement in the intervention group was significantly higher than the control group, whereas in the control group the overall progression to the higher stages was about 48%, while in the intervention group it was 13.8%. The mean of gestational age at the time of retinal vascularization has no statistically significant difference between the two groups (p=0.136).