Original articleThree-Dimensional Assessment of Vascular and Perivascular Characteristics in Subjects with Retinopathy of Prematurity
Section snippets
Methods
Between January 2009 and September 2012, 96 prematurely born neonates undergoing conventional ROP screening were imaged by SD-OCT after institutional review board–approved consent was obtained from parents or legal guardians. Subjects underwent SD-OCT imaging immediately after scheduled ophthalmoscopic examination for ROP screening. Spectral domain OCT was performed using a portable handheld SD-OCT system (Bioptigen Inc., Durham, NC) in the nonsedated neonate following an age-specific imaging
Baseline Characteristics of Study Participants
The mean gestational age for the study participants was 26±2.1 weeks, and the mean birth weight was 872 ± 267 g (Table 2, available at www.aaojournal.org). The mean age at imaging (for the scans included in the study) was 37 ± 4.4 weeks. The percentages of female and male subjects and Caucasians and African-Americans were equal. Sex, race, and birth weight were similar in both cases and controls (P > 0.05). The plus group had an expected lower gestational age when compared with the controls (
Discussion
This is the first SD-OCT study specifically investigating the retinal vasculature characteristics in prematurely born subjects undergoing ROP screening (PubMed search for terms retinopathy of prematurity, plus disease, and optical coherence tomography from 1981 to date). In this study, we present unique information of vascular changes occurring in neonates with ROP that cannot be appreciated with any other imaging modality. This information can help us to understand the characteristics of
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Dr. Joseph Izatt and Dr. Hansford Hendargo for insightful comments on the interpretation of vascular blood flow on OCT.
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Identification of novel biomarkers for retinopathy of prematurity in preterm infants by use of innovative technologies and artificial intelligence
2023, Progress in Retinal and Eye ResearchPeripheral OCT Assisted by Scleral Depression in Retinopathy of Prematurity
2022, Ophthalmology ScienceVitreous opacities in infants born full-term and preterm by handheld swept-source optical coherence tomography
2022, Journal of AAPOSCitation Excerpt :Histopathologic samples of post-mortem or post-enucleation eyes of patients with ROP could further elucidate the nature of the vitreous opacities, though vitreous loss during tissue processing may limit such analysis. Prior studies identified SD-OCT-based ROP-severity biomarkers, including retinal vascular features of plus disease (VASO score),22 vitreous opacity density, and tractional vitreous bands.7 Altogether, these biomarkers may be combined into predictive models for disease.
Retinal imaging in infants
2021, Survey of OphthalmologyCitation Excerpt :In 2014, Maldonado and coworkers analyzed vascular and perivascular abnormalities on SD-OCT in eyes with ROP,82 and proposed a Vascular Abnormality Score by OCT (VASO) to quantify abnormalities graded on SD-OCT such as hyporeflective vessels, vessel elevation, perivascular spaces, and scalloping of retinal layers. The authors found a significantly higher VASO score in infants with plus disease.82 Experience with OCT-A in ROP is limited.
Dome-shaped macula in premature infants visualized by handheld spectral-domain optical coherence tomography
2021, Journal of AAPOSCitation Excerpt :This study identified dome-shaped macula with high frequency among premature infants, associated with low birth weight, ROP presence, and ROP severity. Recent studies have attempted to identify vitreoretinal biomarkers of ROP using handheld OCT in premature infants.7,8,26 Dome-shaped macula should be explored as an additional ROP severity biomarker.
Vitreous Findings by Handheld Spectral-Domain OCT Correlate with Retinopathy of Prematurity Severity
2020, Ophthalmology RetinaCitation Excerpt :In contrast, handheld OCT is a noncontact method that does not require an eyelid speculum. By identifying 2 potential new OCT markers for ROP severity risk in addition to previously identified OCT markers,9 this study opens up the possibility for exploration of handheld OCT as a safer diagnostic tool than currently accepted ROP screening methods. This study is limited by its observational design.
Supplementary material available at www.aaojournal.org
Financial Disclosure(s): The author(s) have made the following disclosure(s): C.A.T. receives Bioptigen and Genentech research support through Duke University and royalties from Alcon for surgical technologies.
This research was made possible by the following grants: The Hartwell Foundation; The Andrew Family Foundation; Grant Number 1UL1 RR024128-01 from the National Center for Research Resources, a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and NIH Roadmap for Medical Research. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of the National Center for Research Resources or the NIH.