Ocular Biometry, Optic Nerve Head Parameters And Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness In Severe Preterm Malay Children

Introduction: Severe preterm delivery is defined as babies born at 32 weeks or less of gestation. The earlier the baby is born, the less likely he or she is to survive. Those who do survive are at a higher risk of lifelong health problems, of which the ophthalmic complications include retinopathy of prematurity, myopia, amblyobia, strabismus and optic nerve abnormalities. Objective : This study is to compare the ocular biometric parameters, optic nerve head parameters, and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness parameters between severe preterm and term Malay children aged 8-16 years old. Methodology: This comparison cross sectional study evaluated 64 patients, 32 patients were born less than 32 weeks of gestation and 32 patients were full term. All patients underwent thorough eye examination. Ocular biometry was performed using A- Scan ultrasound biometry, whilst optic nerve head parameters and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness were performed using Heidelberg Retinal Tomograph III

Assessment of the Optic Nerve Head Parameters Using Heidelberg Retinal Tomography III in Preterm Children

Background: Variations in optic nerve head morphology and abnormal retinal vascular pattern have been described in preterm children using digital image analysis of fundus photograph, optical coherence tomograph and serial funduscopy. We aimed to compare the optic nerve head parameters in preterm and term Malay children using Heidelberg Retinal Tomograph III. Design: A cross sectional study. Methodology/Principal Findings: Thirty-two preterm Malay children who were born at up to 32 weeks postconception, and 32 term Malay children aged 8–16 years old were recruited into this cross sectional study, which was conducted in the Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia from January to December 2011. Their optic nerves were scanned and analyzed using a Heidelberg Retinal Tomography (HRT) III (Heidelberg Engineering, Germany). Preterm children showed an increased rim volume (SD) (0.56 (0.26) vs 0.44 (0.18) mm3, respectively), smaller cup shape (SD) (0.18 (0.07) vs 0.25 (0.06) mm, respectively), increased height variation contour (SD) (0.44 (0.14) vs 0.35 (0.08) mm, respectively), and increased cup depth (SD) (0.24 (0.11) vs 0.17 (0.05) mm3, respectively) when compared to their normal peers (p,0.05). There were no significant differences in the mean disc area, cup area, cup to disc ratio or rim area between the preterm and term children (p.0.05) in our study. Conclusions/Significance: Preterm children exhibit different characteristics of optic nerve head parameters with HRT III analysis. Increased cup depth in preterm children suggests a need for close observation and monitoring. It may raise suspicion of pediatric glaucoma when proper documentation of intraocular pressure and clinical funduscopy are unsuccessful in uncooperative children

Self-reported visual symptoms and high visual demand activities in professional football players: a cross-sectional survey

Background: Vision is crucial for football players, impacting decision-making and athletic performance. Despite its global popularity, football lacks comprehensive evaluations of the impact of digital device use on ocular symptoms during high-demand activities. Purpose: To gain knowledge about the time spent by football players in high visual demand activities, the symptoms associated with binocular vision dysfunction, and their relationship with sports performance. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted in 2020 using an online survey targeting football players from Portugal, England, Spain, and Saudi Arabia. The survey, distributed over 5 weeks, aimed to collect data from approximately 5,000 football players. Information on player profiles, competitive levels, vision habits, and symptoms related to binocular vision dysfunctions was collected. The Convergence Insufficiency Symptom Survey (CISS) employed a 5-point Likert scale to indicate the average frequency of each symptom. Due to non-normality, non-parametric tests were used (p < 0.05). Specifically, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, Chi-square, and Spearman's rank correlation tests were used as appropriate. Results: Analyzing male professional football players (mean age: 27.4 ± 5.0 years, 95% CI, 26.7–28.1), it was found that 38.1% of the players had been called up to the national team and 6.9% had played over 50 games. Self-rated last season's performance had a mean score of 6.5 ± 2.1 (95% CI, 6.2–6.8)(on a scale of 1 to 10). Smartphone use exceeded 1 h daily for all players, with 36.0% surpassing 4 h. Visual symptoms, notably associated with smartphone use (35.5%), were observed. Regarding the CISS score, the mean was 7.1 ± 7.7 (IC95%: 6.6 to 8.8). A weak negative correlation (rho = −0.215, p = 0.003) emerged between CISS scores and self-perceived sports performance. Football players using prescription lenses had significantly higher CISS scores (11.9 ± 10.4, 95% CI, 12.3–7.7) compared to non-users (6.2 ± 6.8, 95% CI, 7.8–5.7) (p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study reveals that professional football players engage in high visual demand tasks, notably on smartphones. One-third of the players link smartphone use to ocular symptoms. The Convergence Insufficiency Symptoms Survey indicates that 6.3% exhibit binocular vision dysfunction symptoms. Those with fewer ocular symptoms perceive that they have better sports performance than their counterparts.The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Funding UIDB/04650/202

Assessment of the optic nerve head parameters using Heidelberg retinal tomography III in preterm children.

BACKGROUND: Variations in optic nerve head morphology and abnormal retinal vascular pattern have been described in preterm children using digital image analysis of fundus photograph, optical coherence tomograph and serial funduscopy. We aimed to compare the optic nerve head parameters in preterm and term Malay children using Heidelberg Retinal Tomograph III. DESIGN: A cross sectional study. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Thirty-two preterm Malay children who were born at up to 32 weeks postconception, and 32 term Malay children aged 8-16 years old were recruited into this cross sectional study, which was conducted in the Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia from January to December 2011. Their optic nerves were scanned and analyzed using a Heidelberg Retinal Tomography (HRT) III (Heidelberg Engineering, Germany). Preterm children showed an increased rim volume (SD) (0.56 (0.26) vs 0.44 (0.18) mm(3), respectively), smaller cup shape (SD) (0.18 (0.07) vs 0.25 (0.06) mm, respectively), increased height variation contour (SD) (0.44 (0.14) vs 0.35 (0.08) mm, respectively), and increased cup depth (SD) (0.24 (0.11) vs 0.17 (0.05) mm(3), respectively) when compared to their normal peers (p<0.05). There were no significant differences in the mean disc area, cup area, cup to disc ratio or rim area between the preterm and term children (p>0.05) in our study. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Preterm children exhibit different characteristics of optic nerve head parameters with HRT III analysis. Increased cup depth in preterm children suggests a need for close observation and monitoring. It may raise suspicion of pediatric glaucoma when proper documentation of intraocular pressure and clinical funduscopy are unsuccessful in uncooperative children

Demographic data of the preterm children.

<p>Demographic data of the preterm children.</p

Comparison of optic nerve head parameters between the preterm and term children.

*<p>Independent t-test<0.05 was considered statistically significant.</p

Comparison of the mean values of the optic nerve head parameters in the preterm children with other published studies.

<p>SD, standard deviation; HRT, Heidelberg Retinal Tomography; Optical Coherent Tomography; NA, data not available.</p>*<p>Means and 95% confidence interval.</p>**<p>Median.</p

Distribution of the age, gender and visual acuity.

<p>SD, standard deviation.</p