Abstract
Fifty-eight prematurely born children (gestational age ≤ 32 weeks) were studied at the age of 5 years. The ophthalmological examination was part of an extensive neurodevelopmental evaluation. The eye study revealed significant hyperopia (≽ + 2.0) in 22.4%, myopia (≥ − 1.0 D) in 8.6%, astigmatism (≥ 1.0 D) in 12.1 %, and anisometropia (≥ 1.0 D) in 12.1 %. The myopic refractive error was high in all of the cases: from − 6.0 to −14.0 D. Manifest strabismus was found in 24.2% and significant visual impairment or blindness in 6.9%. Optic atrophy and cicatricial retinopathy of prematurity were the main causes for severe visual defects. In the randomly selected full-term children of the same age, significant hyperopia was seen in 14.3%, astigmatism in 5.4% and strabismus in 1.8%. The pattern of the eye findings was different in the preterm children compared with those born at term.
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Tuppurainen, K., Herrgård, E., Martikainen, A. et al. Ocular findings in prematurely born children at 5 years of age. Graefe's Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 231, 261–266 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00919102
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00919102