Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: to compare the results obtained in healthy preterm vs full-term newborns, at 3 and 8 months of age, by p-VEPs and f-VEPs recordings. Methods: we examined 30 healthy preterm newborns (28-35 weeks of gestational age (GA)), recording f-VEPs, p-VEPs-t and p-VEPs-ss at different spatial frequencies. We did it at 3 months of postnatal age (PA), 3 GA, 8 PA and 8 GA. We compared the results with those obtained in 90 full-term newborns at 3 and 8 months. Results: In preterms of 3 PA and GA F-VEP latencies were delayed as to 3 months full-term newborns (202,4 and 145,64 ms vs 137,69 ms), but there's no statistic significance for the gap recorded in 3 GA (p = 0,054236). At 8 months F-VEPs didn't show differences between preterm and full term newborns (125 and 115,75 ms vs 119,77 ms). P-VEP latencies were delayed in preterms of 3 PA (205,7 ms) and 3 GA (140,33 ms) as to 3 months full-term newborns (110,62 ms). At 8 months they're still delayed (135,66 and 113,75 ms vs 99,41 ms). P-VEP-ss recordings showed, according to the data presented the last year, a progressive shortening of preterm visual pathway maturation delay, but we noticed a low percentage of success at the lowest and highest spatial frequencies tested in preterms (10% at 0,5 c/d and 0% at 9 c/d), as to the results obtained in full-term newborns (90% at 0,5 c/d and 25% at 9 c/d). Conclusions: we do confirm the gap, we showed the last year, existing between 3 PA and 3 GA preterms. By completing our follow up at 8 months, we can say that the maturation of visual pathways, which are able to process unpatterned vs patterned stimuli, isn't simultaneous.We're going on following the newborns up to one year of age, to consolidate and better explain the results obtained by P-VEP-ss stimulation.
Keywords: visual development: infancy and childhood • electrophysiology: clinical • neuro-ophthalmology: diagnosis