[Fluorescence Angiography-assisted Management of Recurrences in Aggressive Posterior Retinopathy of Prematurity (APROP) after Intravitreal Monotherapy with 0.312 mg Bevacizumab]

[10 years of screening for retinopathy of prematurity (2009-2019) : Results analysis of two German level-1 neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) with university on-site screening and a telemedical approach in the non-university NICU]

BACKGROUND

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is one of the most common causes of childhood blindness in Germany and worldwide and adequate screening is essential. The telemedical approach with objective documentation of retinal findings opens up the possibility of reliably diagnosing all ROP stages independent of the examiner, if a team of ophthalmologists specialized in ROP evaluates the images.

OBJECTIVE

A 10-year comparison of ROP screening at two level‑1 neonatal intensive care units (NICU): university and on-site vs. non-university and telemedical.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Retrospective analysis of screened premature infants by gestational age (GA), birth weight (BW), sex, multiple births, time of ROP occurrence, treatment needs and time as well as examination frequency.

RESULTS

From 2009 to 2019, we screened 1191 infants of whom 29 had been screened before by an external clinic. The internal 1162 infants were screened on-site with 3713 retinal examinations. We diagnosed 34% with ROP and treated 5.4% (3.7% in Giessen, 7.2% in Siegen). Mean GA was 28.9 weeks (± 2.5 weeks); mean BW 1155 g (± 417.5 g). The number of ROP diagnoses increased by 227.3% in Giessen and by 111.1% in Siegen due to the increasing number of premature births in neonatal care.

CONCLUSION

Comparative analysis confirmed nationally and internationally increasing ROP screening and children with acute ROP. Telemedical screening was equivalent to on-site screening and safe. Both screening methods identified infants requiring treatment on time. No child with GA > 29 weeks required treatment, analogous to Swedish ROP registry results; however, in the German ROP registry some premature babies with GA ≥ 30 weeks required treatment.

Fundus fluorescein angiography imaging of retinopathy of prematurity in infants: A review

Fluorescein angiography in retinopathy of prematurity is increasingly utilized over the past decade. The development of ultra-wide-field imaging combined with fluorescein angiography has allowed improved visualization of the peripheral retinal vasculature. Patient cooperation in the pediatric population is particularly challenging, but hand-held digital retinal photography has shown promise and can visualize the infant retina without the need for anesthesia and intravenous access. Many features of retinopathy of prematurity and its response to laser and anti-VEGF treatment can be either exclusively or better visualized on fluorescein angiography compared to indirect ophthalmoscopy or color fundus photography. Disease treatment is gradually shifting from laser photocoagulation to intravitreal anti-VEGF agents, the latter being associated with late-onset vision-threatening sequelae. The role of fluorescein angiography in retinopathy of prematurity monitoring will continue to increase with the longer follow-up required and different clinical behavior seen with anti-VEGF treatment. We highlight the utility, safety, and importance of fluorescein angiography in the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of retinopathy of prematurity.

Frühgeborenenretinopathie

Die Frühgeborenenretinopathie zählt zu den häufigsten behandelbaren Erblindungsursachen bei Kindern. Es handelt sich um eine vasoproliferative Netzhauterkrankung, die nur bei Frühgeborenen auftritt. Durch ein konsequentes augenärztliches Screening können nahezu alle Augen mit behandlungsbedürftiger ROP frühzeitig identifiziert und einer Behandlung zugeführt werden, sodass das Risiko einer schweren Sehbehinderung oder Erblindung durch eine ROP erheblich gesenkt wird.

Frühgeborenenretinopathie

Die Frühgeborenenretinopathie zählt zu den häufigsten behandelbaren Erblindungsursachen bei Kindern. Es handelt sich um eine vasoproliferative Netzhauterkrankung, die nur bei Frühgeborenen auftritt. Durch ein konsequentes augenärztliches Screening können nahezu alle Augen mit behandlungsbedürftiger ROP frühzeitig identifiziert und einer Behandlung zugeführt werden, sodass das Risiko einer schweren Sehbehinderung oder Erblindung durch eine ROP erheblich gesenkt wird.

[Ophthalmic aspects of vascular and functional changes in malignant arterial hypertension of renal origin]

Malignant arterial hypertension is a clinical syndrome characterized by severe diastolic arterial hypertension with signs of ischemic damage to target organs - kidneys, heart, brain, eyes. Malignant arterial hypertension can be one of the reasons, as well as a consequence of thrombotic microangiopathy - a special type of vascular lesions of the organ microvasculature. Ocular manifestations of arterial hypertension include hypertensive retinopathy of varying severity, choriopathy. The appearance of new diagnostic research methods allows a detailed study of eye damage in malignant arterial hypertension, whether associated or not with thrombotic microangiopathy, and to analyze the relationship of ocular and systemic manifestations of this disease to determine the nature and degree of involvement of the organ of vision in the pathological process and identify prognostic signs of disease progression and its forms.