PEDIATRICS Vol. 18 No. 3 September 1956, pp. 506-508
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PUBLIC HEALTH, NURSING, MEDICAL SOCIAL WORK

RETROLENTAL FIBROPLASIA IN NEW YORK STATE

Editors: Myron E. Wegman, M.D..

APPEARANCE of "new diseases" is a phenomenon well known to observing pediatricians. When a new disease is first reported, there is often some doubt as to whether it is a separate entity, then a certain amount of hesitation while the definition and characteristics of the disease are being investigated, and finally a rush of increased diagnoses as the disease becomes more "popular" or is better understood. Very often therapy awaits elucidation of etiology, and, of course, therapy is not always successful.

The problem of retrolental fibroplasia has constituted an interesting case in point which, while it has not followed all of the characteristics noted above, has certainly approached them. A recently published analysis of "The Rise and Fall of Retrolental Fibroplasia in New York State—A Preliminary Report" by Yankauer, Jacobziner, and Schneider (New York State J. Med., 56:1474, May 1, 1956), reviews in striking fashion the progress of the disease. In contrast to many reports of disease incidence, the paper from New York State is a model of care and precision. The authors point out that diagnosis and follow-up of this condition in New York State are encouraged by state laws regarding the care of the blind, as well as by the special programs for premature infants, which have been promoted by both the city and the state health departments. Furthermore, the reports on the disease have been carefully investigated and the fact of "popularity" mitigated by studying both the time at which the disease is reported in relation to the age of the child, and the evidence for confirmation of the diagnosis.