Incidence of Retrolental Fibroplasia

With the marked drop of incidence rate of retrolental fibroplasia, interest in this disorder has virtually disappeared. Except for the reports of certain state agencies for the blind, almost no data on incidence of retrolental fibroplasia are being published and probably very few are being collected. Our research group at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, however, has been working since 1954 on a 5-year follow-up study of mild and severe retrolental fibroplasia at the Boston Lying-in Hospital and has, as part of that study, followed the changes in incidence during the period when restrictions on the use of supplementary oxygen were being introduced into premature-infant care.