Abstract
Purpose :
To determine longitudinal change of foveal thickness in preschool-aged patients with histories of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).
Methods :
This was a prospective observational study. Patients reaching preschool age (4-6 years) were classified into the following 4 groups: children with a history of type I ROP who had been treated using laser therapy (laser group), children with a history of type I ROP who had been treated using intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) (IVB group), children with regressed ROP who had not received any treatment (regressed group), prematurely born children with no history of ROP (premature group). Foveal thickness was measured at baseline and 3 times more with 6-month intervals (6 months, 12 months, and 18 months) using a spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT). The visual acuity, refractive errors, and optical components were measured as well. The main outcome measures were the central foveal thickness (CFT) between the 4 groups and their longitudinal changes.
Results :
Totally there were 201 eyes of 104 patients enrolled in this study. The mean age of the first examination was 5 years old. Laser group had a similar gestational age and birth weight compared to IVB group (all P>0.05). Laser group was noted to have a worse uncorrected visual acuity compared to IVB group (P<0.01), but there was no significant difference noted in the best-corrected visual acuity (P>0.05). The corneal curvature was significantly steeper in the laser group (P <.01). The laser group had a higher foveal thickness compared with the other groups at all visits (all P<.01) and little changes in the CFT (all P>0.05) were noted in each group during the follow-up. The estimating CFT are 11.8μm, 28.5μm, and 40.9μm thicker than the preterm group (reference) for the regressed group, IVB group, and laser group, respectively (all P<.01).
Conclusions :
Laser-treated eyes had a significantly greater foveal thickness than IVB-treated, regressed ROP, and preterm eyes. The difference of foveal thickness for the 4 groups remained significant in preschool-aged children after 18 months of follow-up. Laser seems to have a long-term impact on the foveal development in the ROP patients.
This is a 2020 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.