Abstract
Hyperoxaemia has proved unsatisfactory as a total explanaation for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in preterm infants. Recently, hypoxic-ischaemic injury to the retinal circulation has been proposed as a pre-requisite to oxygen toxicity in the causation of ROP. We have compared the neonatal ultrasound (US) brain scan findings and the neurodevelopmental status at 12 months of age in 25 very preterm <33 weeks) infants with ophthalmological evidence of ROP, and 50 unaffected infants matched for gestation and postnatal age. 21 (84%) of the ROP-affected infants had abnormalities on US brain scans, including 11 (44%) with definite or presumed evidence of hypoxic-ischaemic damage or parenchymal haemorrhage (ventricular dilatation, hydrocephalus or cerebral atrophy), compared with 24 (48%) of the unaffected infants (p<0.01); and the neurodevelopmental status of 19 (76%) of the ROP-affected infants was abnormal at 12 months of age compared with 7 (14%) of the unaffected infants (p<0.001). We conclude that hypoxic-ischaemic injury is associated with ROP and may predispose to the development of ROP in very preterm infants.
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Azzopardi, D., Baudin, J., Plumb, A. et al. BRAIN DAMAGE AND RETINOPATHY OF PREMATURITY IN VERY PRETERM INFANTS. Pediatr Res 22, 221 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198708000-00049
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198708000-00049