Neurodevelopmental outcomes after intravitreal bevacizumab injection in Japanese preterm infants with retinopathy of prematurity

Abstract

Purpose : We aimed to evaluate neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm infants who underwent an intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) injection for type 1 retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

Methods : In this retrospective analysis, we reviewed the medical records of patients who received ROP screening examinations at Kyushu University Hospital from 2007 to 2017. Among the patients who received IVB or laser photocoagulation (LPC) for type 1 ROP, we listed only infants whose neurodevelopmental examination (the Kyoto Scale of Psychological Development [KSPD]) results at 18 months corrected age were available. Then, the effect of IVB on the developmental quotient (DQ) in each KSPD domain (Postural-Movement, Cognitive-Adaptive, or Language-Social domain) or the overall DQ was investigated by performing linear regression analysis.

Results : Five hundred and thirteen patients were enrolled in this study. Eighty patients developed type 1 ROP and underwent IVB or LPC. Among them, we could obtain the KSPD results from fifty three patients. IVB was significantly associated with neurodevelopmental delay in the Language-Social domain (p=0.01). This association remained even after adjusting for gestational age and birth weight (p=0.03).

Conclusions :
Administration of bevacizumab may introduce a risk of developmental impairment of interpersonal relationships, socializations, and verbal abilities of children. We recommended that preterm infants who received IVB undergo a neurodevelopmental reassessment during their school years or in adulthood.

This is a 2020 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.