title: Peripapillary Choroidal Thickness in Former Preterm and Full-Term Infants Aged From 4 to 10 Years.
abstract: The aim of the study was to investigate peripapillary choroidal thickness in former preterm and full-term infants with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT).
  
  
  
  Subanalysis of infants with successful peripapillary choroidal thickness measurements of a prospective, controlled, cross-sectional, hospital-based study in a tertiary center of maximum care. The study examined 503 infants aged 4 to 10 years at the time of examination. Infants were divided into different groups: group 1 born with gestational age (GA) ≥37 weeks, group 2 born with GA between 29 and 32 weeks without ROP (retinopathy of prematurity), group 3 born with GA ≤28 weeks without ROP, and group 4 born with GA ≤32 weeks and presence of ROP.
  
  
  
  Peripapillary choroidal measurements were available for 388 of 503 participants. No significant differences were found among the four groups for global peripapillary choroidal thickness. Multivariable analysis revealed no association with low GA, birth weight, ROP occurrence, perinatal adverse events, and logMAR visual acuity. Only infants born small for GA (SGA) revealed peripapillary choroidal thinning in the superior (P = 0.033) and nasal (P = 0.024) sectors compared with infants born appropriate for GA (AGA). Infants SGA had lower visual acuity than AGA infants (0.03 ± 0.07 logMAR SGA versus 0.01 ± 0.05 logMAR AGA; P = 0.029).
  
  
  
  Our results indicate that prematurity itself does not affect choroidal thickness in the peripapillary region. Only infants born SGA revealed peripapillary choroidal thinning compared with AGA infants. Our data indicate that fetal growth restriction leads to choroidal long-term alterations in the peripapillary region.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Helios Dr. Horst Schmidt Klinik, Wiesbaden, Germany.
authors.forename: Achim
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fieß
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Helios Dr. Horst Schmidt Klinik Wiesbaden, Germany.
authors.forename: Luka
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Christian
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Helios Dr. Horst Schmidt Klinik, Wiesbaden, Germany.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kölb-Keerl
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Helios Dr. Horst Schmidt Klinik Wiesbaden, Germany.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Knuf
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kirchhof
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Philipp S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Muether
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Helios Dr. Horst Schmidt Klinik Wiesbaden, Germany.
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bauer
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002829:Choroid / Q000473:pathology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D008297:Male; D009898:Optic Disk / Q000473:pathology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012178:Retinopathy of Prematurity / Q000175:diagnosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000379:methods*