Bevacizumab Versus Laser Therapy in Neonates With Retinopathy of Prematurity: A One-Year Interventional Study

This one-year randomized open-label parallel-group prospective interventional study aimed to study and compare the outcomes of intravitreal injection Bevacizumab 0.625mg versus Nd: YAG laser therapy for the treatment of premature babies with ROP. During one year of study, 338 babies with birth weight ≤ 2000 grams and gestational age (GA) ≤ 35 weeks were screened for ROP at a tertiary ophthalmic center in North India. Out of 338 babies, 157 babies developed ROP. The incidence of ROP among the study population screened was 46.44%. Finally, 120 eyes of 60 babies with ROP, who required treatment, were included in the study and were randomly allocated into two equally distributed groups. Group A comprised infants who received intravitreal Bevacizumab injections (0.625 mg intravitreally), while Group B consisted of infants treated with laser therapy using a frequency-doubled Nd: YAG laser. Retreatment was needed signicantly more in Group A (53.33%, 32 eyes) than in Group B (18.33%, 11 eyes) (p=0.02). The mean duration between primary treatment and retreatment was not signicant, but disease regression within 1-3 months was notably higher in Group B. Complete regression occurred in 49/60 eyes in Group A and 58/60 in Group B, with 11 eyes in Group A and 2 in Group B showing no regression. The study concludes that both treatments are effective, but laser therapy is more effective, with fewer retreatments and failures. Bevacizumab (0.625mg) is particularly benecial in reducing severity in aggressive ROP (AROP) when used as a primary treatment.