Abstract
Purpose: :
In a previous study we showed a marked improvement of visual acuity before 10 years of age in a cohort of children with dense congenital cataract operated before 36 weeks of age. The purpose of the present study was to describe visual acuity level and investigate visual acuity development after the age of 10 years, compared to a Swedish normal population from the literature.
Methods: :
All children born in the county of Västra Götaland and Halland between 1980 and 1995 who were diagnosed with bilateral dense congenital cataracts were included in a longitudinal prospective study, n= 23.
Results: :
The mean visual acuity was 0.28 at the age of 10 years. 71 % of the children showed no improvement in visual acuity between 10 and 14 years or older and the remaining children changed in visual acuity within 0.1 log Mar.
Conclusions: :
The subnormal visual acuity of early operated children with dense congenital cataracts reached a plateau at 10 years of age. Therefore, the visual acuity at 10 years of age seems more predicative for final visual acuity than visual acuity levels at 4 or 7 years of age commonly used for a normal population.
Keywords: visual development: infancy and childhood • infant vision • cataract