Effects of Congenital Ocular Toxoplasmosis on Peripheral Retinal Vascular Development in Premature Infants at Low Risk for Retinopathy of Prematurity

Congenital toxoplasmosis and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) are two devastating clinical entities of the newborn. There is little information in the literature about the interaction between congenital infections and retinal vascular development at the fetal stage, and none regarding the relationship between ROP and congenital toxoplasmosis. In this report, we present two premature newborns diagnosed with congenital toxoplasmosis with ocular involvement, accompanied by ROP with interrupted retinal vascularization, peripheral avascular regions, and retinal detachment. The aim of this paper is to emphasize the possibility of ROP and congenital toxoplasmosis coexistence wherein one condition may mask the other and make it difficult to distinguish the cause of retinal detachment. Timely management with medical and surgical treatment of congenital toxoplasmosis and ROP could save eyes and vision in those cases.