Contrast sensitivity at age 10 years in children who had threshold retinopathy of prematurity

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Neonatology
• Pediatric Medicine

Background:

• Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a significant cause of visual impairment in premature infants.
• Cryotherapy for retinopathy of prematurity (CRYO-ROP) is a treatment aimed at preventing severe visual loss.
• Long-term visual outcomes, specifically contrast sensitivity (CS), after ROP treatment require further evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess monocular contrast sensitivity (CS) at age 10 years in eyes treated for ROP with cryotherapy versus control eyes from the CRYO-ROP trial.
• To compare CS in treated and untreated eyes of infants with severe ROP.
• To evaluate CS in a control group of low-birth-weight children without ROP.

Main Methods:

• Participants included survivors of the CRYO-ROP trial with severe ROP and a control group without ROP, all with low birth weights (<1251 g).
• Contrast sensitivity was measured at age 10 years using Pelli-Robson charts at a standardized distance and luminance.
• CS was quantified by the total number of letters correctly identified.

Main Results:

• A higher proportion of control eyes (59.3%) had unfavorable CS outcomes compared to treated eyes (39.7%) (P<.001).
• In patients with bilateral ROP, CS results were similar between treated and control eyes, indicating no detrimental effect of cryotherapy.
• Eyes in the 'no ROP' group demonstrated normal CS in 96.9% of cases, significantly higher than treated (48.1%) and control (34.6%) eyes with ROP.

Conclusions:

• Cryotherapy for severe ROP demonstrates a beneficial effect on visual function, specifically contrast sensitivity.
• Cryotherapy treatment for ROP showed no evidence of adverse effects on long-term contrast sensitivity.
• Eyes affected by severe ROP, with or without cryotherapy, exhibit significantly poorer contrast sensitivity compared to preterm infants who did not develop ROP.