Assessment and prediction of visual acuity in 3- to 4-year-old children born prior to term
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Preschool-age preterm children often have slightly poorer visual acuity than full-term peers. Early screening at 4 months corrected age may predict later visual performance in these children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Ophthalmology
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Neonatal Care
Background:
- Previous research indicates poorer visual acuity in school-age children born preterm.
- Visual acuity in preschool-age preterm children remains understudied.
- Understanding visual development in preterm infants is crucial for early intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To measure and report visual acuities of preschool-age preterm children.
- To compare visual acuity in preterm versus full-term children aged 3-4 years.
- To identify predictors of visual acuity in this population.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the operant preferential looking procedure for visual acuity measurement.
- Assessed 23 preterm children aged 3 to 4 years.
- Analyzed data excluding children with significant refractive errors.
Main Results:
- The average visual acuity of preterm children was slightly poorer than that of full-term children.
- Many preterm children exhibited normal visual acuity, but the group average was lower.
- Birthweight, gestational age, and respiratory distress syndrome did not predict later visual acuity.
Conclusions:
- Preschool-age preterm children, on average, show slightly reduced visual acuity compared to full-term peers.
- Early preferential looking acuity screening at 4 months corrected age demonstrated predictive value for later visual performance.
- Early visual screening may be beneficial for identifying preterm infants at risk for visual deficits.
Abstract:
Previous studies of school-age children born prior to term indicate that they often have visual acuity that is slightly poorer than normal. However, visual acuity results for preschool-age preterm children have not been reported. In this study, we used the operant preferential looking procedure to measure the visual acuities of 23 3- to 4-year-old preterm children. The results indicated that, although many of the children had acuities within the normal range, the average acuity of the preterm children was slightly poorer than that of full-term children of the same age, even when children with significant refractive errors were eliminated from the sample. Neither birthweight, gestational age at birth, nor the presence of respiratory distress syndrome during infancy were predictive of later visual acuity. However, preferential looking acuity screening at 4 months corrected age did have some predictive value, in that 3 of the 4 infants who failed to complete testing at 4 months showed poor performance at 3 to 4 years of age.