Refractive and ocular biometric profile of children with a history of laser treatment for retinopathy of prematurity

Abstract

Purpose:Indian children belong to a diverse socioeconomic strata with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) developing in mature, higher birth weight babies as well. The purpose of our study is to analyze the long-term status of refractive errors and its relationship with ocular biometry in children with ROP who were laser treated at a tertiary center in North India.Methods:Cross sectional study. Children (<16 years) enrolled from January 2014 to December 2014 with a history of laser treatment for ROP and examined for refractive and biometric status.Results:Thirty-six children presenting to us at the mean age of 7.37 ± 3.07 years (6–15 years) were included. Mean spherical equivalent (SE) was −4.05 D ± 5.10. 75% were myopic, with high astigmatism in 31%. Higher lens thickness (P = 0.03) and higher SE (P = 0.002) at 1 year postnatal age were predictors of larger SE. 79.4% achieved a favorable functional outcome (visual acuity ≥20/40). 5.88% achieved unsatisfactory outcome (<20/200) despite having a favorable structural outcome.Conclusion:There are a substantial number of children who develop myopia and high astigmatism while undergoing laser treatment for ROP. We found myopia in our cohort to be lenticular and greater axial length contributing to the development of high myopia. An initial large refractive error predicts the future development of myopia in these children. Nearly 6% of patients with good structural outcome have unexplained subnormal vision. Our threshold for prescribing glasses in these children should be low.

Refractive, sensory, and biometric outcome among retinopathy of prematurity children with a history of laser therapy: A retrospective review from a tertiary care center in South India

“…Like other studies[11131417] ours also showed a significant number of eyes with predominantly high myopic SE and astigmatism [Table 4]. Many authors have concluded myopia to be associated with ROP laser treated than non-ROP infants and spontaneously regressed ROP cohort.…”

“…The study depicted the long-term outcome in children treated for ROP with laser therapy. Comparison among the studies[11121314151617] about the patient characteristics are tabulated in Table 4. All the studies including the present study had much higher mean birth weight and mean gestational age compared to ETROP cohort [(703 g) and (25 weeks)].…”

“…Many authors have concluded myopia to be associated with ROP laser treated than non-ROP infants and spontaneously regressed ROP cohort. [151719] Choi et al concluded that myopia begins to appear at 6 months of age and its severity increases between the ages of 6 months and 3 years, and eyes with cicatricial retinopathy tended toward myopia. [20] ETROP findings suggested that increased myopia in fact is due to more severe ROP rather than any direct effect of the laser treatment.…”

Retinopathy of Prematurity: An emerging and evolving challenge

“…The study by Kaur et al . [ 10 ] in this issue supports the lenticular nature of myopia with biometric comparisons. Agarkar et al .…”

Refractive Status in Children with Laser-Treated Retinopathy of Prematurity: Our Experience in Bulgaria

“…In our study hyperopia was observed in 36.4% eyes. Hyperopic rate varies significantly in different studies from 20% [26] to 86% [24], mainly depending on the follow-up duration of the study.…”