Symptoms of retinopathy of prematurity

Being able to give birth to a healthy baby is a very important thing for the whole family. However, in our lives, many women are prone to premature birth due to lack of attention during pregnancy. This has a great impact on the health of the fetus, especially since the fetus cannot fully adapt to the outside environment and is always prone to some diseases. Let's take a look at the symptoms of retinopathy of premature infants.

Symptoms of retinopathy of prematurity

It usually occurs 3 to 6 weeks after birth and is clinically divided into the active phase and the fibrous membrane formation phase.

1. Activity period

(1) The vascular change stage is seen in the early stages of retinopathy of prematurity. Both arteries and veins are tortuous and dilated. The diameter of the vein is sometimes 3 to 4 times larger than the normal diameter. Brush-like capillaries can be seen at the blood vessel endings in the peripheral part of the retina.

(2) Retinopathy stage: The lesions progress further, the vitreous becomes cloudy, and the fundus becomes more hazy than before. There is an increase in retinal neovascularization, which is mostly located near the equator, and can also be seen in the anterior or posterior pole of the equator. The retina in this area is obviously bulging, with blood vessels crawling on its surface, often accompanied by retinal hemorrhages of varying sizes.

(3) In the early proliferative stage, proliferative vascular cords appear at the localized retinal bulges mentioned above and develop into the vitreous body, causing small-scale retinal detachment in the peripheral part (most) or the posterior pole (a few) of the fundus.

(4) In the moderate proliferative stage, the detachment extends to more than half of the retina.

(5) Complete retinal detachment during the extreme proliferative stage. Sometimes a large amount of blood can be seen in the vitreous cavity.

The active course of retinopathy of prematurity is 3 to 5 months. Not all cases go through the above five stages. About 1/3 of cases stop at the first stage, 1/4 stop at the second stage, and the rest stop at the third, fourth, and fifth stages and enter the fiber membrane formation stage.

2. Fiber membrane formation period

In the active stage, the cases that cannot subside on their own will eventually become scars and form fibrous membranes. The degree of scarring varies from mild to severe, and is divided into 1 to 5 degrees:

Grade I: The retinal blood vessels are narrow, the peripheral retina is grayish-white and turbid, with small irregular pigment spots, and there are also small turbidities in the nearby vitreous body, often accompanied by myopia.

Grade II: There is an organized mass in the peripheral part of the retina, which pulls the optic disc and retinal blood vessels to one side. There is a pigment arc at the edge of the opposite optic disc, and the optic disc is faded.

Grade III: The fibrous membrane pulls the retina to form one or several folds. Each wrinkle is connected to a membrane-like mass in the peripheral retina. The retinal blood vessels do not run along these folds, unlike congenital retinal folds.

Grade IV: A fibrous membrane or a part of the retina that has detached from the organization can be seen behind the lens, and the pupil is obscured.

Grade V: The entire back of the lens is covered by a fibrous membrane or detached, organized retina. During mydriasis examination, the elongated ciliary processes can be seen in the periphery of the pupil. The anterior chamber is very shallow, and there is often anterior and posterior iris adhesion. It may also be caused by secondary glaucoma or extensive anterior iris synechiae, which may lead to corneal opacity, smaller eyeball and sunken eyeball than normal.

The above is an introduction to the symptoms of retinopathy of prematurity. After understanding it, many people realize the seriousness of the problem. Therefore, in order to give birth to a healthy baby, female friends must pay attention to their physical care during pregnancy. First of all, you should maintain a happy mood and do regular prenatal check-ups. Also, do not do strenuous exercise during pregnancy.