Early assessment of oculomotor behavior in infants withbronchopulmonarydysplasia: A transversal study

Abstract

Background: In Brazil, where there are difficulties in accessing health services, the increasing number of comorbidities in preterm survivors diagnosed with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) necessitate the creation of a tool to effectively evaluate aspects of visual function in a short time. The objective of this study was to develop a simple protocol to evaluate the oculomotor system in newborns with BPD. Methods: Our study compared two groups of preterm-born infants: those who were oxygen-dependent for longer than 28 days were included in the BPD group (BG), while babies given oxygen for a maximum of 10 days were included in the premature group (PG). Exclusion criteria were: babies under mechanical ventilation and/or vasoactive drugs, those with intracranial hemorrhage, retinopathy of prematurity, motor and/or neurological malformation. Assessments were performed while the baby was comfortably seated and evaluated four eye movement types: saccadic movements (SAC), smooth pursuit (SP), vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR), and optokinetic nystagmus (OKN). Results: Fifty-two infants were evaluated and of these, 22 were included in the BPD group and 30 in the premature group. Birth weight, gestational age and Apgar score at one and five minutes did not differ significantly between the two groups. Infants with BPD demonstrated the absence of three of the four eye movements types; according to a Chi-square test, this was statistically significant when compared with the premature group. Conclusions: The protocol considered in this study was sufficient to evaluate the oculomotor system in newborns diagnosed with BPD. Ocular motility in these infants was found to be impaired when compared to babies without a BPD diagnosis.