OCULAR OUTCOME IN CHILDREN BORN BEFORE 32 WEEKS GESTATION

Ocular outcome was assessed in a 2 year cohort of all children born be fore 32 weeks gestation within a geographically defined population of approximately 3 million, Five hundred and sixty-five children were bor n within the study period; 558 children (98.8% of the study group) wer e assessed at approximately 2 years old, There was a high incidence of abnormalities, particularly strabismus (70, 12.5%), cortical visual l oss (7, 1.3%), sequelae of retinopathy of prematurity (16, 2.9%) and o ther significant refractive errors (69, 12.7%). These data provide a r ecent estimate of gestational age-specific prognosis and suggest that follow-up yields a significant proportion of children with visual abno rmalities who could benefit from treatment.