Optic disc measurements in full term infants

Background: The objectives of this study were to measure optic disc size in full term infants and to determine whether this value is influenced by sex or birth weight.\ud \ud Methods: Retinal images from a cohort of full term infants admitted to a tertiary perinatal centre were obtained using a retinal camera. Optic disc size was measured by carefully delineating the outline with a cursor using image analysis software. MEDLINE was then systematically searched to compare the data with other published articles.\ud \ud Results: 35 images of left and right eyes from 35 infants were assessed. An image from one eye per patient was then chosen for analysis. The following results were found: mean birth weight 3050±706 g; mean gestation 38.9±1.4 weeks. Mean optic disc area was 1.26±0.23 mm2; mean vertical diameter was 1.37±0.15 mm; and mean horizontal diameter was 1.14±0.12 mm. The vertical diameter of the optic disc was significantly longer than the horizontal diameter (p