Anatomo-functional state of the central retina in premature infants with intraventricular hemorrhage and retinopathy of prematurity

Abstract

Assessment of the anatomo-functional state of the central retina in children with intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in the long-term period. We examined 51 patients (102 eyes) born 25-34 weeks' of gestation (birth weight 700-2290 g), aged 8.83±3.5 years, and 18 children (36 eyes) born prematurely aged 10.8±3.2 years. The children underwent standard ophthalmologic examination, optical coherence tomography (OCT) and visual evoked potentials (VEP). Retinal thickness (RT) and retinal volume (RV) in the fovea of premature infants with PH and/or IVH are significantly higher than in healthy full-term infants, which correlates with lower visual acuity (p<0.05). RT and RV in the fovea has an inverse proportional relationship with gestational age (GA), (p<0.05). According to the results of VEP, moderate organic changes in the conduction tract of the visual analyzer are noted in 45% of premature infants (p<0.05). The process of macula formation is affected by many perinatal and postnatal factors, namely: GA, birth weight, ROP, hypoxic-ischemic CNS diseases, and refractive disorders.