Reduced visual resolution acuity and cerebral white matter damage in very-low birthweight infants

Neonatal cerebral white matter echolucencies predict visual resolution acui ty deficits in very-low-birthweight (VLBW) infants. We examined maternal so ciodemographic, lifestyle, intrapartum, infant birth/perinatal, and ocular motor/refractive characteristics to determine whether they accounted for th is association in infants who were tested once between postnatal age 25 and 56 weeks (corrected for gestational age at birth). Granial ultrasound scan s were read by consensus to identify echolucency in a population of VLBW in fants with no known ocular abnormalities. Visual resolution acuity was meas ured with the Acuity card Procedure (ACP) in 14 infants with echolucency an d compared with that of 81 VLBW infants born in the same hospitals with nor mal ultrasound scans. Is time-oriented logistic regression models, echoluce ncy remained a consistent predictor of abnormal visual resolution acuity af ter adjustment for covariates in three developmental periods (pre-, peri-, and postnatal). Odds ratios ranged from 19.3 (95% confidence interval, 4.5 to 82.2;p=0.001) to 10.4 (95% confidence interval, 1.3 to 81.9;p=0.03). Red uced visual resolution acuity in VLBW infants appears to be due to cerebral white matter damage.