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Refraction in premature babies: a prospective study
Journal of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
|January 1, 1978
Insights
Refraction in premature babies shifts toward emmetropia over seven years. While some myopia persists, its degree lessens, with no link found to retinopathy of prematurity (RLF).
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Developmental Biology
- Pediatric Medicine
Background:
- Premature infants often experience visual development challenges.
- Refractive errors in early life can impact long-term vision.
- Understanding refractive changes is crucial for pediatric eye care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the longitudinal changes in refraction among premature infants.
- To determine the progression of myopia and its severity over seven years.
- To explore potential associations between myopia and retinopathy of prematurity (RLF).
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study tracking refraction in 67 premature babies over seven years.
- Categorization of refractive groups at birth and subsequent follow-up.
- Assessment of refractive error degree and changes over time.
Main Results:
- Consistent shift towards emmetropia observed across all refractive groups.
- 54% of initially myopic eyes remained myopic at seven years.
- Myopic eyes showed a reduced degree of myopia compared to birth.
- No correlation identified between myopia and retinopathy of prematurity (RLF).
Conclusions:
- Refractive development in premature infants shows a trend towards emmetropia.
- While myopia may persist, it tends to decrease in severity.
- RLF is not associated with the development or progression of myopia in this cohort.
Abstract:
Refraction in 67 premature babies was examined and followed during seven years. There was continuous changing of refraction towards emmetropia in all refraction groups. Fifty-four percent of myopic eyes remained myopic at the age of seven years but in all the eyes myopia was of lower degree than at birth. In our series there was no relationship between myopia and RLF.