Three-year outcomes of ophthalmological examinations performed at 0–3 months of term/preterm infants

Purpose: To present the ocular pathologies detected in babies with gestational ages >34 weeks in the ophthalmology outpatient clinic, as well as determine the frequency of these pathologies and their relationship with various variables, using data covering a span of three years. Materials: The outcomes of the vision screening performed in 7,820 term/preterm infants aged 0–3 months who were examined at the ophthalmology outpatient clinic of Zeynep Kamil Maternity and Children’s Diseases Training and Research Hospital between 2015 and 2017 were analyzed in this retrospective, cross-sectional, observational, and descriptive study. Results: : A total of 7,820 term and late-preterm infants were examined. An ocular pathology was identified in 20.1% (n=1,569) of the infants. Retinal hemorrhage was detected as the most common pathology in 9.5% (n=740) of the infants, and it was more common in infants who were ≤28 days than those who were >28 days (p<0.001). Immature vascularization (4.4%; n=346) and conjunctivitis (4.0%; n=313) were the other more common ocular pathologies. Conclusion: Abnormal ocular findings, including disorders that could be components of a systemic disease and could cause loss of vision, were identified in 20.1% of the infants. The first three months of life comprises the period of visual function evolution. Therefore, an ophthalmological examination should be performed on all newborns before discharge or as soon as possible after discharge for the early diagnosis and timely management of abnormal findings.