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Published on: December 31, 2015
Macular thickness in children aged 3-6 years born preterm
Ozge Yabas Kiziloglu1, Yesim Coskun2, Nezaket Ezgi Guven3
1Department of Ophthalmology, Bahcesehir University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
Insights
Children born preterm show altered macular thickness compared to those born at term. Preterm infants had thicker central macula and thinner perifoveal retinas, though visual acuity remained similar.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatric Medicine
- Neonatology
Background:
- Preterm birth is associated with various ocular complications.
- Understanding long-term visual development in preterm infants is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare macular thickness in preterm children (3-6 years) versus age-matched controls born at term.
- To investigate correlations between macular thickness and factors like gestational age in preterm children.
Main Methods:
- Prospective case-control study involving preterm infants (born ≤34 weeks) and term-born controls.
- Macular thickness measured using spectral domain optical coherence tomography.
- Analysis included comparisons between groups and correlation within the preterm group.
Main Results:
- Preterm children had significantly higher central macula thickness (CMT) and lower perifoveal thickness compared to controls.
- CMT showed moderate negative correlations with gestational age and birth weight in preterm infants.
- Best-corrected visual acuity was similar between groups and not correlated with CMT.
Conclusions:
- Children born preterm exhibit distinct macular retinal thickness patterns, with a thicker central macula and thinner perifoveal region.
- These retinal differences, though subtle, may represent a consequence of prematurity.
- The observed macular alterations did not impact visual acuity in this cohort.
Purpose:
To determine macular thickness in 3- to 6-year-old children who were born preterm compared with age-matched controls born at term.
Methods:
Children 36-72 months of age born ≤34 weeks and age-matched control children born at term were included in this prospective case-control study. Macular thickness measurements obtained using spectral domain optical coherence tomography were compared between groups and correlations of macular thickness were investigated in the preterm group.
Results:
A total of 45 preterm children (median age, 57.7 months) and 44 controls (median, 56.1 months) were included. Central macula thickness (CMT) was significantly higher (P = 0.010) and perifoveal thickness was significantly lower (P = 0.029) in the preterm group compared with the control group. Moderate negative correlations of CMT with gestational age and birth weight were found in the preterm group. Best-corrected visual acuity was similar between groups and was not correlated with CMT in the preterm group. No significant difference in macular thickness was found between subjects who had retinopathy of prematurity and those who did not.
Conclusions:
Compared with controls, children in the preterm group had thicker retinas at the central macula and thinner perifoveal retinas. These subtle alterations were not correlated with visual acuity and may be considered a reflection of prematurity.
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