With the improvement of medical care and control of neonatal infectious diseases, the number of ocular diseases caused by congenital and genetic disorders in newborns is gradually increasing. In particular, recent advances in resuscitation techniques for preterm infants have significantly increased the survival rate of preterm infants, and the incidence of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) has gradually increased. This is one of the major causes of blindness in children. The early screening of neonatal eye diseases and ROP has attracted much attention from neonatologists and ophthalmologists at home and abroad in recent years. About 50,000 children with low vision and 12,000 children with blindness due to ROP among 200,000 preterm infants in China every year. In order to effectively reduce the blindness rate of retinopathy of prematurity, in 2004, the Ministry of Health issued the Guidelines for the Treatment of Premature Infants with Oxygen and Retinopathy of Prematurity, which requires routine screening for retinopathy of prematurity in high-risk infants. What is retinopathy of prematurity (ROP)? ROP is a proliferative eye disease of the retinal vessels that occurs in premature, low birth weight infants. Its pathogenesis is based on the immaturity of the retinal vasculature in preterm infants. The younger the gestational age and the lower the birth weight of the newborn, the higher the incidence of ROP, which is currently one of the leading causes of childhood blindness. What are the causes of ROP? The most recognized risk factors are mainly preterm birth, low birth weight, and irregular oxygenation. Other risk factors such as the mother’s prenatal application of certain drugs or diseases such as gestational hypertension, neonatal respiratory distress syndrome, severe infections, blood transfusion, and precocious heart disease (patent ductus arteriosus) can be the causative factors of ROP. How to detect retinopathy of prematurity as early as possible? At present, the pathogenesis of ROP is not fully understood, and there is still great difficulty in prevention and treatment. Early detection, early detection and early treatment are mainly achieved through screening of high-risk infants. Which newborns must undergo fundus examination? 1.ROP screening should be performed on preterm and low weight infants with birth gestational age <37 weeks and birth weight <2000 grams; 2.For preterm infants with serious diseases and maternal abnormalities during pregnancy, the scope of screening should be expanded appropriately; 3.The first examination should start at 4-6 weeks after birth, or 32 weeks of corrected gestational age, and all preterm infants who meet the screening criteria should undergo ROP screening on time, and according to Individual fundus condition determines the time of review and follow up until the peripheral retina is completely vascularized (usually at 40-42 weeks of corrected gestational age). What are the clinical signs of ROP? In the early stages of ROP, the abnormalities are not visible from the outside. When retinal detachment occurs in the late stages of the disease, parents may see a white pupil, which is often referred to as "white pupil syndrome", and may also find that the child's eyes do not follow objects. What are the consequences of ROP if left untreated? 1.Seriously affect the child's vision or even blindness; 2.Poor vision leads to strabismus; 3.Eye atrophy; 4.Orbital dysplasia, which seriously affects facial appearance. Do full-term newborns need to have their eyes examined? Of course they do. Fundus screening can detect not only retinopathy of prematurity, but also many other fundus diseases, mainly fundus hemorrhage in newborns, retinoblastoma (malignant tumor of the fundus), petunia syndrome (congenital abnormal development of the optic nerve), Coats disease (congenital dilated retinal capillaries), congenital retinal cleft, etc. These diseases may occur in both preterm and term newborns. Therefore, all newborns should undergo routine fundus examinations, and healthy full-term newborns can undergo fundus screening 24 hours after birth. Can fundus exams harm my baby's eyes? RetCam III, the world's most advanced fundus screening method for newborns, is an objective, non-invasive test that is performed with the Wide-field Digital Pediatric Retinal Imaging System. It is easy and fast to operate, has a great field of view and high quality images, and facilitates early detection of fundus problems in newborns. The RetCam III has been rigorously tested by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for safe and reliable performance, and is non-invasive to infants and children, making it the gold standard for obtaining pediatric retinal images.