Telemedicine in Retinopathy of Prematurity: A Review of Current Evidence and Clinical Outcomes

Background/Objectives: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a leading cause of preventable childhood visual impairment, particularly in settings where access to specialized ophthalmologic care is limited. Telemedicine offers an alternative approach to ROP screening and monitoring through remote retinal imaging and expert interpretation. This narrative review aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance, clinical benefits, implementation challenges, and future perspectives of telemedicine in ROP screening and management.

Methods

A narrative literature review was conducted with consideration of the Scale for the Assessment of Narrative Review Articles (SANRA) criteria. PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched in August and August 2026 for relevant publications from January 2000 to the search date. Two authors independently screened titles and abstracts, followed by full-text assessment according to predefined eligibility criteria. A total of 143 scientific articles and other high-quality sources were included in the final narrative synthesis. Evidence was evaluated qualitatively, without a formal risk-of-bias assessment.