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Visual Acuity alterations in heavily impaired Congenital Zika Syndrome (CZS) children
Luiz C P Baran1,2, Diego da S Lima1,2, Leonardo A Silva1,2
1Department of Experimental Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Insights
Congenital Zika Syndrome (CZS) significantly impairs visual acuity (VA) in children, correlating with motor skills but not cognitive abilities. Most affected children retain some visual function despite impairment.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatrics
- Virology
Background:
- Congenital Zika Syndrome (CZS) is a condition affecting infants born to mothers infected with Zika virus during pregnancy.
- Visual impairment is a recognized complication of CZS, but the extent and impact on development require further elucidation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess visual acuity (VA) in children with CZS.
- To evaluate the degree of visual loss in this population.
- To explore correlations between visual function and cognitive/motor development.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 41 children with confirmed Zika virus infection (Congenital Zika Syndrome) from Rio de Janeiro was evaluated.
- Visual acuity was assessed using Teller Acuity Cards.
- Cognitive and motor domain tasks were administered to assess developmental performance.
Main Results:
- 95% (39/41) of CZS children exhibited visual acuity below normative values.
- Visual impairment severity varied, with 29 cases showing significant deficits (>0.15 logMAR below lower limit).
- Visual acuity correlated with motor domain performance but not with cognitive tasks; children with better VA performed better in both domains.
Conclusions:
- Children with CZS demonstrate a high prevalence of significant visual acuity impairment.
- Visual function deficits in CZS correlate with motor development, suggesting a potential impact on motor milestones.
- Despite impairment, many CZS children retain some visual function, highlighting the importance of early visual assessment and intervention.
Introduction:
This study aimed to assess visual acuity (VA) in Congenital Zika Syndrome (CZS)-children to evaluate visual loss. To that end we evaluated 41 CZS - children, from Rio de Janeiro using Teller Acuity Cards.
Methods:
To asses VA, we evaluated 41 CZS - children, from Rio de Janeiro using Teller Acuity Cards. The children had Zika virus-infection confirmed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) or clinical evaluation.
Results:
In 39 out of 41 (95%) children, the VA scores were below normative values, while in 10 cases, VA was only marginally below normal; in the remaining 29 cases, VA was more than 0.15 logMAR below the lower limit. There was no correlation between VA and the cognitive domain tasks, although there was a correlation between VA and motor domain tasks. Thirty-seven children performed at least one task in the cognitive set, while fourteen children did not perform any task in the motor set. Children with VA above the lower limit performed better in the cognitive and motor tasks.
Discussion:
We concluded that ZIKV- infected children with CZS were highly VA impaired which correlated with motor performance, but not with cognitive performance. Part of the children had VA within the normal limits and displayed better performance in the cognitive and motor sets. Therefore, even if heavily impaired, most children had some degree of VA and visual function.
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