Babies with low birth weight lose eyesight due to absence of screening of the retina immediately after birth. At least 20 per cent of preterm babies suffer vision loss due to retinopathy of prematurity even though it is preventable blindness, say ophthalmologists.
The Department of Ophthalmology of Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) here on Tuesday decided to save the vision of low birth weight babies by screening them early. “For babies whose birth weight is below 1,500 grams or for those who are born before 30 weeks of pregnancy, the chance of losing eyesight is more. If there is an ophthalmological intervention immediately after birth, we can save their vision,” P. Thiyagarajan, Head of Department of Ophthalmology, GRH, told The Hindu on Tuesday.
As a first step, better coordination will be in place between the ophthalmology, paediatrics and obstetrics and gynaecology departments. The expertise of Aravind Eye Hospital will be taken to train doctors of these departments.
“Eye screening among preterm babies is important as the blood vessels in the retina will be underdeveloped, ” he said. For a preterm baby, retina test should be done for one month starting from the third week of birth. Dr Thiyagarajan said a common mistake committed by doctors in treating low birth weight babies was giving 100 per cent oxygen to save their life.
“We call it hyperbolic oxygen and it can lead to vision loss. So, management of preterm babies needs ophthalmologists too,” he added.
From this week, the ophthalmologists of the GRH will visit neonatal wards and intensive care units to sensitise doctors to saving the eyesight of low birth weight babies. The first programme on retinopathy of prematurity was conducted on Tuesday with experts from the Aravind Eye Hospital.
From Aravind Eye Hospital, P. Vijayalakshmi, chief of paediatric ophthalmology, and Manish Tandon, senior retina specialist, explained the guidelines to be followed for early screening of retinopathy. G. Veerasekhar, medical superintendent, GRH, K. Maadevan, chief of paediatrics, and T. Uma Devi, head, department of obstetrics and gynaecology, were present.
