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Digital wide-angle fundus photography promising for ROP assessment
MADRID, Spain — Wide-angle digital fundus photography may be an effective way to remotely assess retinopathy of prematurity, according to a surgeon speaking here.
Birgit Lorenz, MD, said digital imaging can be effective, affordable and practical in a neonatal intensive care unit. It can avoid costly and stressful transfers of newborns to specialized clinics for diagnosis, she said. The photography can be done onsite at the neonatal clinic and the results sent via e-mail or fax to a reading center to confirm the diagnosis.
Dr. Lorenz studied 320 premature infants using this method over a 6-year period. She presented her study results here at the Congress of the European Society of Ophthalmology. She said the technique has been well-received by neonatal specialists and parents of patients.
Dr. Lorenz said digital wide-angle fundus photography records an anterior segment view of retinal pathology. In infants born at 27 weeks’ gestation, Dr. Lorenz was able to see incomplete vascularization. Two weeks later, she could see central progression of the retinopathy. One week after the infant was treated with diode laser, some regression of retinopathy occurred.