Indian Journal of Ophthalmology (Jan 2015)

Macular edema in Asian Indian premature infants with retinopathy of prematurity: Impact on visual acuity and refractive status after 1-year

  • Anand Vinekar,
  • Shwetha Mangalesh,
  • Chaitra Jayadev,
  • Noel Bauer,
  • Sivakumar Munusamy,
  • Vasudha Kemmanu,
  • Mathew Kurian,
  • Padmamalini Mahendradas,
  • Kavitha Avadhani,
  • Bhujang Shetty

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/0301-4738.159879
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 63, no. 5
pp. 432 – 437

Abstract

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Purpose: To report the impact of transient, self-resolving, untreated "macular edema" detected on spectral domain optical coherence tomography in Asian Indian premature infants with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) on visual acuity (VA) and refraction at 1-year of corrected age. Materials and Methods: Visual acuity and refraction of 11 infants with bilateral macular edema (Group A) was compared with gestational age-matched 16 infants with ROP without edema (Group B) and 17 preterms infants without ROP and without edema (Group C) at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months of corrected age using Teller Acuity Cards and cycloplegic retinoscopy. Sub-group analysis of the previously described pattern A and B macular edema was performed. Results: Visual acuity was lower in infants with macular edema compared with the other two control groups throughout the study period, but statistically significant only at 3 months. Visual improvement in these infants was highest between the 3 rd and 6 th month and plateaued by the end of the 1 st year with acuity comparable to the other two groups. The edema cohort was more hyperopic compared to the other two groups between 3 and 12 months of age. Pattern A edema had worse VA compared to pattern B, although not statistically significant. Conclusion: Macular edema, although transient, caused reduced VA as early as 3 months of corrected age in Asian Indian premature infants weighing <2000 g at birth. The higher hyperopia in these infants is possibly due to visual disturbances caused at a critical time of fovealization. We hypothesize a recovery and feedback mechanism based on the principles of active emmetropization to explain our findings.

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