SPIRE-VISION
SPIRE-Vision 2023
Pakistan is a resource limited country and we had a very high rate of deaths among premature babies. Survival of such babies has improved significantly over the past two decades due to better knowledge and availability of technology to support life. With improved survival, there is an increase in number of babies who develop complications of being born premature or from side effects of treatment received to save their lives. One such devastating complication is Retinopathy of Prematurity, ROP. Babies who are born before 36 weeks of pregnancy and get exposed to high levels of oxygen during the first few weeks of life are at the highest risk of developing ROP. Screening for ROP is an important part of follow-up care for the premature babies who survive their stay in NICU and nurseries. SPIRE has compiled the first ever database of more than 600 premature babies who were seen in Khyber Teaching Hospital, Department of Ophthalmology under supervision from Professor Sadia Sethi. We are hoping to publish the first ever research paper on ROP from this region by December 2023.
SPIRE- VISION UPDATES
- First paper is being finalized for submission to an international journal. This is a database of 841 premature babies who were followed for development of Retinopathy of Prematurity at Khyber Teaching Hospital.
- SPIRE-KTH collaboration will continue through 2024, since the database is still recruiting infants for ROP.