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Am J OphthalmolJanuary 201523 citations

Assessment of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in healthy, full-term neonates.

Rothman Adam L, Sevilla Monica B, Freedman Sharon F, Tong Amy Y, Tai Vincent, Tran-Viet Du, Farsiu Sina, Toth Cynthia A, El-Dairi Mays A


AI Summary

This study established normative RNFL thickness data in healthy neonates, finding potential racial differences in superior temporal RNFL. This baseline is crucial for diagnosing pediatric glaucoma and optic neuropathies.

Abstract

Purpose

To measure average retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thicknesses in healthy, full-term neonates.

Design

Descriptive research to develop normative data.

Methods

Healthy infants born between 37 and 42 weeks postmenstrual age were imaged with hand-held spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. A custom script segmented the RNFL; the fovea and optic nerve center were manually selected. A second script measured the average RNFL thickness along the papillomacular bundle, defined as the arc from -15 degrees to +15 degrees on the axis from the optic nerve to fovea, with radii of 1.1, 1.3, 1.5, and 1.7 mm from the center of the optic disc. Shapiro-Wilk W tests assessed these measurements for normality to determine the age-appropriate radial distance for subsequent analyses. Average RNFL thicknesses for four temporal 45-degree sectors (superior temporal, temporal superior, temporal inferior, and inferior temporal) and the temporal quadrant were calculated and compared to demographic parameters for all infants.

Results

Fifty full-term infants were adequately imaged for RNFL analysis. RNFL thicknesses at 1.5 mm radial distance from the optic nerve were the most normally distributed. While there was a trend toward greater mean superior temporal RNFL thickness for both black and Hispanic vs white infants (128 ± 27 μm, 124 ± 30 μm, and 100 ± 19 μm, respectively, P = .04 for both comparisons), there were no other significant differences noted in RNFL thicknesses by race, sex, gestational age, or birth weight.

Conclusions

We present RNFL thickness measurements for healthy, full-term infants that may serve as normative data for future analyses.


MeSH Terms

Birth WeightFemaleGestational AgeHumansInfant, NewbornMaleNerve FibersOptic DiskOrgan SizeProspective StudiesReference ValuesRetinaRetinal Ganglion CellsTerm BirthTomography, Optical Coherence

Key Concepts4

There was a trend toward greater mean superior temporal retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness for black (128  27 m) and Hispanic (124  30 m) neonates compared to white neonates (100  19 m) (P = .04 for both comparisons) in a study of healthy, full-term infants.

PrognosisCross-sectionalDescriptive researchn=50 full-term infantsCh5Ch10

No significant differences in retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thicknesses were noted by sex, gestational age, or birth weight in healthy, full-term neonates.

PrognosisCross-sectionalDescriptive researchn=50 full-term infantsCh5Ch10

Average retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness measurements for healthy, full-term infants may serve as normative data for future analyses.

DiagnosisCross-sectionalDescriptive researchn=50 full-term infantsCh5

Retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thicknesses at 1.5 mm radial distance from the optic nerve were the most normally distributed in healthy, full-term neonates.

MethodologyCross-sectionalDescriptive researchn=50 full-term infantsCh5

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