Infantile hemangiomas and retinopathy of prematurity: possible association.

Overview

OBJECTIVE: The goal was to study the clinical association between infantile hemangiomas and retinopathy of prematurity in preterm infants. METHODS: A retrospective study of preterm neonates weighing /=1 cm in size. Univariate analyses showed lower gestational age, lower birth weight, and postnatal steroid use to be predictors of retinopathy of prematurity, whereas prenatal steroid use, race, and gender were not significantly related. In multivariate logistic regression analyses controlling for gestational age and postnatal steroid use, infantile hemangiomas were found to be independently associated with any stage of retinopathy of prematurity. Neither the number nor the size of infantile hemangiomas showed any association with the severity of retinopathy of prematurity. CONCLUSIONS: Infantile hemangiomas are associated with the development of retinopathy of prematurity in infants weighing