Abstract
Purpose::
Premature infants often show postural abnormalities which can interfere with motor and cognitive development. We assessed growth alteration and visual development in retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) infants with a birth weight less than 1000 grams who required laser treatment.
Methods::
Retrospective review of 42 eyes of 21 very low birth infants (22-30 weeks gestation) after diode green laser treatment for threshold ROP (stage 3a) in zone II and in zone III with a birth weight less than 1000 grams (478 to 995g), who were admitted to the University of Tokyo Hospital from November 2000 to March 2006. The development of postural adjustments during reaching movements was assessed between the corrected ages of 4 to 18 months. Additionally, visual acuity was assessed between the corrected ages of 24 to 36 months by the conventional preferential looking method.
Results::
There was a significant negative correlation between the corrected birth weight (at 40 weeks) and the term (at the onset of the reaching "Head control", r=-0.45, p<0.05; at the onset of the reaching "sitting without support", r=-0.47, p<0.05). Laser treatment was applied between the corrected ages of 31 to 41 months, and visual acuity in 64% subject’s eyes were not reach 0.3, including 67% eyes that treated over 800 shots (odds ratio=8, p<0.05). Visual development was not associated with growth alteration.
Conclusions::
The present study revealed that premature infants with very low birth weight had several growth abnormalities and visual disability. ROP screening and timely treatment for threshold ROP were very important for preventing the development of advanced ROP in premature infants.
Keywords: retinopathy of prematurity • retina • retinal development