An International Classification of Retinopathy of Prematurity

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to complete the classification of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) begun with the publication of the recent article on the subject entitled, "An International Classification of Retinopathy of Prematurity" (ICROP).^1-3The previously published classification embodied three major concepts for the description of the early phases of the disease: specifying its location by zones of retinal involvement; recording the extent of retinal involvement by clock hours; and, finally, staging the disease according to the degree of vascular lesions observed (stages 1 through 4). That article specified posterior dilatation and tortuosity of retinal vessels as ominous prognostic signs. The committee that authored it left unclassified the sequelae that encompass the cicatricial phase of the disease. It recommended the use of the Reese classification⁴until a more satisfactory one could be developed. The reasons for completing the classification of the end stages of ROP at this