Ambient light, ophthalmic artery blood flow velocities and retinopathy of prematurity.

Exposure to bright light was recently proposed as a possible risk factor for the development of retinopathy of prematurity. A semi-longitudinal Doppler ultrasound study was conducted of ophthalmic artery flow velocities at normal and increased ambient light in 22 preterm infants, at post-menstrual ages from 28 to 37 weeks. The aim of this study was to obtain relationships between ophthalmic artery blood flow velocities at various post-menstrual ages and lighting conditions and the occurrence of retinopathy of prematurity. A gradual increase in average blood flow velocities was seen between 28 and 37 weeks. A stepwise increase in flow velocity was seen in all cases when ambient light was increased from moderate to intense. Five of the 22 infants developed retinopathy. No association could be established between ophthalmic artery flow velocities or light-induced changes in flow velocity and the occurrence of retinopathy.

Visual acuity and visual field development after cryocoagulation in infants with retinopathy of prematurity.

Visual development was studied in 10 very-low-birth-weight infants (less than 1500 g) with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) stage 3+ who had been treated with cryocoagulation in both eyes. Binocular visual acuity (acuity cards method) and binocular visual fields (kinetic perimetry) were assessed repeatedly in the first year of life. At 12 months corrected age, visual acuity was normal in seven and impaired in three infants, who appeared to be severely myopic. Normal visual fields were found in eight infants at this age. The results indicate that cryotherapy in cases of ROP stage 3+ does not interfere with visual acuity development. The effect on visual field development needs further investigation.

Intraocular lens implantation in children with unilateral traumatic cataract.

A group of 23 children with traumatic pseudophakia was evaluated. Intraocular lens (IOL) implantation was performed as a primary procedure, immediately after aspiration of the traumatic lens, in 7 cases and as a secondary procedure in 16 cases. The mean followup was 6.5 years, varying from 1.5 to 11 years. A visual acuity of 0.7 or more was achieved in 3 of the 8 patients under 7 years of age and in 13 of the 15 cases from 7 to 14 years of age. Awaiting longer follow-up results of epikeratophakia in children we advise to perform early IOL implantation in children under 7 years of age, combined with a rigid amblyopia treatment scheme. In children older than 7 years of age we prefer to try the use of contact lenses first and preserve IOL implantation for selected cases.

TV pattern evoked cortical responses without and with film mixing.

To obtain measurable TV pattern evoked cortical responses of children, the alpha-rhythm of the EEG must be suppressed. In our study, mixing pattern stimuli and film proved to be an effective way of doing this.