Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a retinal disorder of preterm neonates and a potential cause of blindness. As early diagnosis and treatment preserve vision, very low birth weight infants must be screened for ROP. Mydriatic eye drop administration is essential to perform funduscopic evaluations. The most commonly used mydriatic drops for pupil dilatation are 0.5-1.0% tropicamide and/or 0.5-1.0% phenylephrine or 0.2-1.0% cyclopentolate. Phenylephrine, an alpha-1 sympathomimetic agonist, is readily absorbed from conjunctival mucosa and has a potent systemic vasopressor effect. Tropicamide causes cycloplegia by inhibition of ciliary muscle contraction and has a short acting para-sympatholytic effect. Systemic absorption of mydriatic eye drops has been associated with cardiovascular, respiratory and gastrointestinal adverse effects. Systemic side effects include apnea, desaturation, increased heart rate and blood pressure, delayed gastric emptying, and feeding intolerance. The data about the effects of mydriatics on cerebral blood flow and tissue oxygenation are sparse. Cerebral blood flow autoregulation depends in part on the adrenergic and cholinergic control of cerebral vasculature, but whether mydriatics have an effect on cerebral haemodynamics is unknown. Near-infrared spectroscopy and Doppler ultrasonography (US) are non-invasive methods commonly used for neuromonitorization in NICUs. The regional blood flow changes measured using Doppler US have been reported to be associated with cerebral oxygenation and indicate a high correlation with NIRS in newborns. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of mydriatic eye drops on cerebral oxygenation and blood flow in preterm infants by NIRS and Doppler US.
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NIRS
Timeframe: Data were started to get recorded 60 minutes before the instillation of eye drops for pupil dilation. The recording was continued uninterruptedly till 1 hour after the instillation through study completion, an average of 2 hours.
Doppler US measurements
Timeframe: The initial and second assessment were conducted before the application and at the 60th minute of instillation of the first drop, respectively - an average of 2 hours.