Children are prone to blindness due to premature birth

Premature babies at 32 weeks and weighing less than 1.8 kg, often blind in both eyes, due to small blood vessel damage in the eye. If treated early, 80% of children also have complications, such as: myopia, myopia .

Preterm birth, low birth weight: The risk of blindness!

Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, at the Eye Clinic of the Neonatal Care Department - Children's Hospital 1, about 30-45 premature babies will receive eye drops from 12 noon and wait for the examination.

Test for early detection of retinopathy in premature babies at Children's Hospital 1 (Photo: Huong Cat)

Doctor Tran Chau Thai will check for early detection of small vascular lesions that function to nourish the retina. This is the area at the back of the eye, receiving light and transmitting information to the brain. Specialists call this disease a retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

A girl and child of pregnant woman Nguyen Thi L.- residing in Trang Bang, Tay Ninh, just born a month ago. Baby born 28 weeks premature and weighs only 1.3kg.

Doctor Thai checked her eyes, and sighed in relief. The girl had signs of disease, but the blood vessels that kept her retina were still running straight, not running abnormally. Your baby must still be tested periodically every week until 41 - 42 weeks of age, achieving normal gestational age. At that time, the baby's eyes were fully developed.

Also in that visit, the boy of pregnant woman Nguyen Thi Thu N. lived in District 10 (HCMC), came to check periodically after surgery. Baby was shot laser a week ago.

Mrs. N. said, although she was born in the 36th week, she only weighed 1.6kg. The doctors discovered the blood vessels in the eyes of her son, dilated, running wildly. In addition, the crystal crystal (a transparent fluid like chicken egg white) is blurred.

After laser eye surgery, now, the baby's eyes grow well. However, according to BS. Thai, right up to 6 months old, the doctors found out if the baby was disobedient or nearsighted.

After treatment, 80% of children are still blind or nearsighted

According to statistics, since 2001, Ho Chi Minh City Eye Hospital has conducted screening to detect this disease for more than 20,000 premature babies. Then, on 7/2004, Ho Chi Minh City Eye Hospital cooperated with Children's Hospital 1 to examine and treat ROP for premature babies.

Premature retinopathy is a common eye disease in premature, low birth weight babies.The retinal blood vessel in the eye is the last part of complete development until the baby is full-term.

Because babies are premature, these blood vessels are not fully developed, which can lead to damage to the retina and affect children's vision.

Children need to be examined soon from 3 to 4 weeks after birth.Take the child to the examination when:

- Birth weight less than 1,500g or gestational age at birth less than 33 weeks (7.5 months)

- Weight at birth from 1,500g - 2,000g, but suffocated at birth, lying incubator, prolonged oxygen breathing, with other diseases attached

- Birth weight from 1,500g - 2,000g and multiple pregnancies (twins, triplets).

Currently, the total number of premature babies from 32 weeks of age and under and weighing less than 1.8kg, screening ROP is 2280 with a total of 5450 visits. 425 children were treated with lasers. Among them, 19 entire retinal detachments, 13 monocular retinal detachments.

"ROP is a very dynamic disease that progresses very rapidly. From the time of detection of the disease to the treatment within 48 hours, many babies need to stabilize the whole body ( respiratory failure, heart failure, septicemia .) so the child may have retinal detachment in the meantime, "said BS. Thai said.

Currently, Children's Hospital 1 and National Children Hospital are two places that can treat ROP disease for premature babies, because they are eligible for anesthesia for newborns. Many experts said that laser treatment for children is very fast, but the anesthetic process before surgery usually lasts 2 hours.

Although blindness treatment for children aged 70-80%, eye specialists must continue to monitor their visual function. According to many international reports, 75% of children treated with ROP have vision 5/10, 50% have lower vision than 1/10.

For later complications, myopia is the majority. The more severe the disease in the stage, the higher myopia. In addition, children may suffer from amblyopia and squint. When eczema and amblyopia occur, aggressive treatment is required.

For children with retinal scars caused by laser therapy, it is necessary to monitor the retina periodically because of the high risk of retinal detachment. This phenomenon can occur from 10 years to several decades later.

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