Clinical Trial: The Early Treatment for Retinopathy of Prematurity Study (ETROP)

Study Status: Recruiting
Recruit Status: Unknown status
Study Type: Interventional

Official Title: The Early Treatment for Retinopathy of Prematurity Study (ETROP)

Brief Summary: The goal of the Early Treatment for Retinopathy of Prematurity Study (ETROP) is to test the hypothesis that earlier treatment in carefully selected cases will result in an overall better visual outcome than treatment at the conventional CRYO-ROP threshold point in the disease.

Detailed Summary:

At age 5 1/2 years, the oldest age for which follow-up data are available, children with threshold ROP who were enrolled in the Cryotherapy for Retinopathy of Prematurity (CRYO-ROP) -- Outcome Study showed fewer treated eyes (31.5 percent) than control eyes (48 percent) that were blind (P<0.001). Of those eyes that had a favorable structural outcome, with or without retinal ablation (cryotherapy to destroy the fringe of the retina through freezing), only a small percentage had best corrected visual acuity better than or equal to 20/40 at age 5 1/2 years (13 percent in the treated group; 17 percent in the untreated control group (P=0.19)). Among the 1398 followed from the 5 large natural history centers of the CRYO-ROP follow-up study, children with retinal residua of ROP (structural changes) had measurable visual acuity that was severly affected and tended to worsen with age. The CRYO-ROP Study proved conclusively that peripheral retinal ablation improves the chances of avoiding blindness, but at least 80 percent of eyes are left with acuity less than 20/40.

Two concerns emerged from the CRYO-ROP extensive study on the natural history of ROP and treatment of threshold ROP. The first of these is failure of peripheral retinal ablation to eliminate all, or nearly all cases, of retinal detachment due to ROP. In the CRYO-ROP Study, 26 percent of eyes with threshold disease in zone II and 78 percent of eyes with zone I threshold disease had an unfavorable structural outcome despite treatment. The second concern is that most children who developed threshold ROP disease had visual acuity worse than 20/40 even if the eye had a favorable structural outcome.

Since no other treatment has yet been shown to be effective in preventing blindness from ROP, retinal ablation remains the treatment of choice. The ETROP Study will test wheth
Sponsor: National Eye Institute (NEI)

Current Primary Outcome:

Original Primary Outcome:

Current Secondary Outcome:

Original Secondary Outcome:

Information By: National Eye Institute (NEI)

Dates:
Date Received: November 28, 2001
Date Started: October 2001
Date Completion:
Last Updated: June 23, 2005
Last Verified: December 2003