Refractive profile of children treated with intravitreal bevacizumab for retinopathy of prematurity.

Purpose: To study the refractive profile of children after they received intravitreal injection of bevacizumab for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

Methods: The study was conducted at a tertiary eye care hospital in South India. ROP patients of more than 1 year of age, presenting to the Pediatric Ophthalmology Clinic and Retina Clinic and having history of treatment for type I ROP with intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) or intravitreal bevacizumab and laser photocoagulation were included in the study. Cycloplegic refraction was done, and the refractive status was evaluated. The refractive status of age-matched, full-term children with uneventful perinatal and neonatal history was also recorded and compared to the study group.

Results: Among 134 eyes of 67 study subjects, the major refractive error was myopia in 93 eyes (69.4%; spherical equivalent [SE] = -2.89 ± 3.1, range = -11.5 to -0.5 D). There were 75 eyes (56%) with low-to-moderate myopia; high myopia was seen in 13.4%, emmetropia in 18.7%, and hypermetropia in 11.9% of eyes. The majority of them (87%) had with-the-rule (WTR) astigmatism. In 134 eyes, the SE was -1.78 ± 3.2 (range = -11.5 to 4 D); the SE of the 75 eyes with low-to-moderate myopia was -1.53 ± 1.2 (range = -0.50 to -5 D). In the control group, the majority had emmetropia (91.8%). There was no significant association between the age at which IVB had been injected and the development of refractive errors (P = 0.078). The prevalence of low-to-moderate myopia was more than high myopia in patients with zone I and zone II ROP before treatment (60.0% and 54.5%, respectively).

Conclusion: Myopia was the major refractive error seen in post-IVB pediatric patients. WTR astigmatism was more commonly seen. The age at which IVB injection had been given had no effect on the development of refractive errors.