title: Visual function assessment in late-preterm newborns.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the development of visual functions in a population of low-risk late preterm infants.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty low-risk late preterm with a gestational age between 34.0 and 36.9 weeks were assessed at birth and at term equivalent age (TEA) using a structured visual assessment battery. The results were compared to those previously obtained in term born infants using the same battery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For 5 items (spontaneous ocular motility, ocular motility with target, fixation, horizontal tracking and color tracking) the results were similar both at birth and TEA; for the other 4 (vertical and arc tracking, ability to discriminate striped black/white targets and attention at distance) visual findings at TEA were more mature than at birth. Comparing the responses in late preterm at TEA and term-born infants at 48 h of life, only 2 items (attention at distance, ability to discriminate black/white stripes) were different, with more mature findings in late preterm infants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results show that in late preterm some aspects of visual functions have a progressive maturation infants between birth and TEA, confirming that the time between birth and term age appears to be crucial for the development of these abilities.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Neurology Unit, Catholic University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Domenico M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Romeo
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ricci
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Serrao
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gallini
authors.forename: Giorgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Olivieri
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cota
authors.forename: Costantino
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Romagnoli
authors.forename: Eugenio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mercuri
mesh_terms: D002657:Child Development; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D014787:Vision Tests; D014785:Vision, Ocular / Q000502:physiology*