Wide-field digital retinal imaging recommended as adjunct to binocular indirect ophthalmoscopy for routine ROP screening

Eighty-one consecutive infants undergoing routine retinopathy of prematurity screening were examined with both wide-field digital retinal imaging (WFDRI) and binocular indirect ophthalmoscopy (BIO) by two examiners randomly assigned to either method. WFDRI detected any stage of ROP, stage 3 ROP and plus disease with sensitivity of 60 percent, 57 percent and 80 percent and specificity of 91 percent, 98 percent and 98 percent, respectively. WFDRI demonstrated relatively good sensitivity for detecting more severe forms of ROP but relatively poor sensitivity for detecting mild forms in the retinal periphery, making decisions to discontinue screening difficult.