Long-term Ophthalmic Outcomes in Ex-premature Infants (LTOO-XP)

Erasmus University

Status

Not yet enrolling

Conditions

Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP)

Premature Birth

Treatments

Diagnostic Test: eye drops (Tropicamid)

Study type

Observational

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT06649513

12793

Details and patient eligibility

About

There is limited knowledge on ophthalmological outcomes in the adult population that was born prematurely. This study aims to evaluate the ophthalmic outcomes of ex-premature infants that have reached adolescence or adulthood.

Full description

Every year, around 18.000 children in the Netherlands are born prematurely, which means that they were born before 37 weeks gestational age. The WHO defines three different categories of prematurity: moderate to late preterm (32-37 weeks), very preterm (<32-28 weeks), and extremely preterm (<28 weeks). Preterm birth is associated with numerous health problems, which can have both short-term and long-term consequences on the development of the child. A relatively rare complication of (very or extreme) preterm birth is lifelong visual impairment or blindness due to retinal detachment as a result of prematurity retinopathy (ROP). ROP is a vasoproliferative condition that affects the vessels in the retina. An inventory study shows that 305 children were diagnosed with ROP in the Netherlands in 2017. The majority of these children experienced spontaneous regression of the condition, but 13% of cases required treatment to prevent retinal detachment. In the long-term, ROP predisposes for ocular conditions such as visual field abnormalities, refractive error, strabismus, amblyopia, glaucoma and retinal detachment. However, research also indicates that prematurity, regardless of ROP diagnosis, can also be associated with adverse ophthalmological outcomes such as refractive error, strabismus, amblyopia and cerebral visual impairment (CVI). Although there are various publications on the ophthalmological outcomes of ROP and prematurity at school-age, less is known about these outcomes in the adult population. This study aims to investigate the anatomy and functionality of the eye in ex-premature infants who were born between 1991 and 2006. In addition, the differences in outcomes between ex-premature infants with and without ROP, and the differences in outcomes between treated and spontaneously regressed ROP, will be studied.

Enrollment

210 estimated patients

Sex

All

Ages

16+ years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Subjects eligible for ROP screening, and admitted to Erasmus MC between 1991 and 2007.

Exclusion criteria

Subjects born after 2008,
Subject has passed away before the start of the study
Subject resides outside of the Netherlands
Subject has a physical or mental disability that makes it impossible to participate in a routine eye exam, or has a disability that classifies the subject as an incapacitated adult.