Correlation of retinopathy of prematurity with ocular growth and weight gain

Purpose: To prospectively investigate the association between retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and ocular growth in premature infants during the earliest weeks of life, as well as the early caloric intake and ROP.Methods: premature infants in the national ROP screening were recruited and examined 1- or 2-week intervals between 30 and 38 weeks’ postmestrual age. One hundred infants with GA between 24 and 35 weeks (30.04±2.13), and BW between 550 and 2060 gr (1251±317.19) were included in the study. At each examination, the presence, stage and zone of ROP were recorded along with axial length (AL), central corneal thickness (CCT), and weight gain. Biometric parameters were measured by A-scan biometry. Study variables included gestational age (GA), birth weight (BW), AL, CCT, weight gain, relative weight (RW), and dif_AL, dif_CCT and dif_weight which is the difference between two consecutive recordings of the same infant. Multiple regression analysis models were used to determine the association between the study variables and ROP. Results: Dif_AL, dif_CCT and RW were the most appropriate variables to detect the optimal threshold points that discriminate ROP : Weekly increase of AL≤0.0095mm, weekly reduction of CCT≤0,5μm or weekly gain≤7% are associated with ROP development. Conclusions: ROP is associated with delayed ocular development, as eyes of premature infants with ROP have shorter axial lengths and thicker corneas than eyes of premature infants without ROP. The association of AL, CCT and weight gain with ROP could be of value for future development of predictive models of ROP.Στόχος: Στόχος της παρούσας διδακτορικής διατριβής είναι να αξιολογήσει τη συσχέτιση των βιομετρικών χαρακτηριστικών του οφθαλμού των πρόωρων νεογνών και του ρυθμού αύξησης βάρους με την εμφάνιση της Αμφιβληστροειδοπάθεια της Προωρότητας (ΑτΠ) .Μεθοδολογία: ‘Ολα τα πρόωρα νεογνά βάρους γέννησης <1500 γρ είτε διάρκειας κύησης