Results of long-term observation of extremely premature babies with retinopathy

Abstract

To study the long-term clinical and functional outcomes of retinopathy in extremely premature infants. The study included 42 patients (84 eyes) with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) at the age of 9-18 years. All patients underwent comprehensive ophthalmological examination, including morphometric (OCT), functional (ERG) and psycho-physical (computer perimetry) methods. A high occurrence of low vision (67%) was revealed in extremely premature children with ROP during school years and adolescence, which depended on the severity of active ROP and the formation of pronounced residual changes in the fundus during the cicatricial phase of the disease, a high occurrence of refractive errors (92%), including high degree myopia (46%), late complications that develop with ROP of any degree (68%), impaired retinal electrogenesis - due to both ROP and deep morphological and functional immaturity of the retina. Patients with any degree of cicatricial ROP born in the early stages of gestation and with extremely low body weight need regular complex ophthalmologic examination and lifelong follow-up.