Ocular sequelae in extremely premature infants at 5 years of age.
OBJECTIVE
To report long-term ophthalmological sequelae in extremely premature infants at 5 years and to determine the relationship between neonatal variables (including retinopathy of prematurity; ROP) and the 5 year ophthalmological outcome of these infants.


METHODS
The study cohort comprised 84 surviving infants born with a birthweight < 1000 g or gestational age < 28 weeks from June 1985 to December 1989. All infants had an ophthalmological assessment between 34 and 40 weeks post conceptional age to document grade of ROP and were assessed at 5 years of age for fundoscopy, visual acuity, refractive error and ocular mobility.


RESULTS
Of the 84 long-term survivors 69 (82%) were formally assessed at 5 years. Overall, 30 (43%) had some form of ocular disorder. Nineteen (27%) had reduced visual acuity of < 6/6 and three of these were blind. Myopia > -0.5 dioptre was noted in eight (12%), hypermetropia > or = 2.0 dioptre in five (8%), astigmatism in seven (11%) and strabismus was present in nine (14%) of the cohort. There was a significant relationship (P < 0.0001) between the incidence of ocular disorders and ROP. However, even those premature children without ROP had a 31% incidence of ocular disorder at 5 years.


CONCLUSIONS
Long-term ophthalmological follow-up is recommended in all extremely premature infants regardless of the presence of ROP in the neonatal period.
Hebbandi
S B
SB
Department of Neonatology, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, New South Wales, Australia.
Bowen
J R
JR
Hipwell
G C
GC
Ma
P J
PJ
Leslie
G I
GI
Arnold
J D
JD
D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003941:Diagnostic Techniques, Ophthalmological; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012030:Refractive Errors / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D012178:Retinopathy of Prematurity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity