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  • Anterior Chamber Angle and Segment Structure in ROP

    By Lynda Seminara and selected by Richard K. Parrish II, MD
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    Journal Highlights

    American Journal of Ophthalmology, July 2017

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    Chang et al. compared structural aspects of the anterior chamber angle (ACA) and related optic components among children with and without retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). They observed that eyes with ROP had a narrower ACA, a more anteriorly curved iris, a steeper cornea, and thicker lenses.

    This prospective cross-sectional study included 29 children (54 eyes) with a history of ROP and 67 healthy, aged-matched controls (134 eyes). Mean gestational ages were 26.7 and 38.4 weeks, respectively. Children with ROP had undergone laser therapy prior to study entry.

    The ACA structures of all partici­pants were evaluated by gonioscopy. The primary outcome measure was angularity of the anterior chamber and related anatomic changes.

    Compared with healthy controls, children with ROP exhibited a narrower ACA (p < .001), steeper iris curvature (p = .002), and a more anteriorly in­serted iris (p = .08). ROP-affected eyes also had steeper corneas, shallower ante­rior chamber depth, thicker lenses, and greater refractive errors (all p < .001 vs. control eyes). The mean (± standard deviation) best-corrected visual acuity was 0.1 ± 0.2 in the ROP group and 0.01 ± 0.04 in the control group (p < .001). Mean spherical powers were –3.5 ± 5.2 D and –0.8 ± 2.3 D, respectively (p < .001). Axial length was similar for the 2 study groups.

    The authors concluded that more research is needed to explore associa­tions between the abnormal structural findings and the development of other ocular diseases, including glaucoma.

    The original article can be found here.