Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the longterm significance of abnormal visual responses in the neonatal period in very preterm (<33w) infants. All infants had ultrasound brain scane (US), and visual responses to an Albert Einstein Bullseye were elicited in the course of neurological examination. Ill infants born in 1983 were examined at a gestational equivalent age of 30-48 weeks without knowledge of the US findings. Nystagmoid movements (NM) and absent or limited (tracking in one plane only) responses were considered abnormal. 105 infants were re-examined at 99 ± 4.7 months with clinical and neurological examinations, tests of vision, hearing, visual-motor integration (VMI), cognition (WISC-R) and school performance. The main results were:
Visual impairment (amblyopia) at 8 years was noted in only 1 of the 22 infants with abnormal responses. We conclude that the abnormal neonatal visual responses were central in origin and indicated brain damage likely to cause adverse neurological and cognitive outcomes at 8 years. *p<0.005, df 2
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Kirkbride, V., Baudin, J., Townsend, J. et al. NEONATAL VISUAL RESPONSES AND NEURODEVELOPMENTAL OUTCOME AT 8 YEARS IN VERY PRETERM INFANTS. Pediatr Res 35, 274 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199402000-00117
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199402000-00117
