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Long-term grating acuity and visual-field development in preterm children who experienced bronchopulmonary dysplasia
1Department of Ophthalmology, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson 85719, USA.
Insights
Children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) show normal grating acuity and visual-field development compared to healthy peers. However, recognition acuity may be delayed in infants with BPD, indicating potential visual processing challenges.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric ophthalmology
- Neonatal care
- Developmental vision science
Background:
- Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a chronic lung disease affecting premature infants.
- Visual development in infants with BPD requires further investigation, particularly concerning specific visual functions.
- Previous studies suggest potential visual impairments in BPD survivors, but comprehensive data across different visual metrics is limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare grating acuity, visual-field extent, and recognition acuity in children with BPD, hyaline membrane disease (HMD), and healthy preterm (HPT) children.
- To assess the long-term visual development trajectory in these groups up to 48 months corrected age.
- To determine if BPD, without significant retinopathy of prematurity or neurological complications, impacts specific visual acuity measures.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study involving 77 children with BPD, 101 with HMD, and 77 HPT children.
- Grating acuity and visual-field extent tested at multiple corrected ages (0-48 months).
- Recognition acuity assessed at 36 and 48 months corrected age; ophthalmological exams performed.
Main Results:
- Children with BPD had higher rates of strabismus and high refractive error compared to HMD and HPT groups.
- Grating acuity and visual-field extent did not significantly differ between BPD, HMD, and HPT groups at any age.
- Recognition acuity was poorer in BPD and HMD groups than HPT at 36 and 48 months, with significance at 36 months.
Conclusions:
- Infants with BPD, in the absence of severe ROP or neurological issues, demonstrate comparable grating acuity and visual-field development to healthy preterm infants.
- Recognition acuity, a complex visual skill, may experience delays in children with a history of BPD.
- These findings highlight the need for targeted visual assessments beyond basic acuity in BPD populations.
Abstract:
Grating acuity, visual-field extent, and recognition acuity were examined in 77 children who had bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), 101 children who had hyaline membrane disease (HMD), and 77 healthy preterm (HPT) children. None of the subjects had significant retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) or neurological abnormalities. Grating acuity and field extent were tested at 0 to 1, 4, 9, 12, 17, 24, 30, 36, and 48 months corrected age and recognition acuity was tested at 36 and 48 months corrected age. Ophthalmological examinations indicated that a greater proportion of subjects in the BPD group than in the HMD or in the HPT group had strabismus or high refractive error. However, grating acuity and field extent in the BPD group did not significantly differ from the HMD group or from the HPT group at any test age. Recognition acuity was poorer in the BPD and HMD groups than in the HPT group at both 36 and 48 months, but the difference was significant only at 36 months. These results suggest that children who experienced BPD with no significant ROP and no neurological complications show grating acuity and visual-field development comparable to that of healthy preterm children, but that recognition acuity, or the skills required to perform a recognition-acuity task, may be delayed in this BPD population.