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Atrial arrhythmia after newborn eye exam, to caffeine or not to caffeine?
Insights
Mydriatic eye drops used in premature infants for retinopathy screening, combined with caffeine for apnea, may increase the risk of atrial arrhythmias. These cardiac events in neonates resolved with conservative management.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal ophthalmology
- Pediatric cardiology
- Clinical pharmacology
Background:
- Mydriatic eye drops are standard for retinopathy of prematurity screening in neonates.
- Anticholinergic side effects like tachycardia are known in pediatric populations.
- Caffeine is commonly used for apnea of prematurity in neonatal intensive care units.
Abstract:
Mydriatic drops are routinely administered to premature neonates to screen for retinopathy of prematurity. Adverse anticholinergic side effects, particularly convulsions and tachycardia have been reported in the pediatric age group following instillation of mydriatics for diagnostic fundus examination [1, 2]. Caffeine is frequently used for apnea of prematurity. In the neonatal intensive care unit, the combined use of caffeine and mydriatic drops is a common practice. Here we report two cases of atrial arrhythmias after neonatal eye exam that improved with conservative management. Both patients were receiving caffeine at the time of events.
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