Evaluation of Hyaloid Artery Persistence as a Biomarker in Retinopathy of Prematurity Using OCT.
Hyaloid artery persistence strongly distinguishes severe retinopathy of prematurity from no retinopathy of prematurity on OCT.
Evaluation of Hyaloid Artery Persistence as a Biomarker in Retinopathy of Prematurity Using OCT.
To evaluate whether hyaloid artery persistence, detected by handheld OCT, is associated with retinopathy of prematurity (retinopathy of prematurity) severity.
SUBJECTS: A total of 162 eyes of preterm infants undergoing retinopathy of prematurity screening at a tertiary care neonatal intensive care unit were included.
eye scans distinguish severe retinopathy of prematurity from no retinopathy of prematurity with strong accuracy
The hyaloid artery was detectable by OCT in 152 of 162 (94%) eyes.
Compared with eyes with No retinopathy of prematurity, hyaloid artery persistence was significantly prolonged in Mild retinopathy of prematurity (acceleration factor [AF], 1.354; P = 0.002) and Severe retinopathy of prematurity (AF, 1.414; P = 0.006).
Median postnatal age of hyaloid artery disappearance, adjusted for mean gestational age, was 9.1 weeks for No retinopathy of prematurity, 11.7 weeks for Mild retinopathy of prematurity, and 12 weeks for Severe retinopathy of prematurity.
The hyaloid artery is commonly detectable in preterm infants using OCT.
Persistence of the hyaloid artery is significantly associated with increasing retinopathy of prematurity severity and may serve as a novel, quantifiable biomarker of disease severity and retinal maturation.