With the opening of China's fertility policy, the increase in elderly pregnant women and the advancement of reproductive medicine, more and more premature babies or low-weight babies are born and survive. The increase in the base of preterm babies has also led to an increase in the number of retinopathies affected by each year.
Retinopathy of prematurity is the leading cause of blindness in children, so how can the occurrence of this disease be reduced? Hear what health ambassadors have to say?
Retinopathy of prematurity may cause irreversible visual impairment
Compared with term infants, premature infants have immature organ development and less robust function, and are prone to diseases of various organs, including retinopathy of prematurity.
It is estimated that 300,000 to 400,000 premature babies in China experience different degrees of ROP every year, of which at least about 20,000 to 30,000 premature babies are threatened by blindness as soon as they are born.
This is a retinal angioplastic eye disease, and the smaller the gestational age and lower the weight, the greater the incidence of retinopathy in preterm infants.
When the disease reaches a certain level, if it is not effectively treated, it can lead to lifelong irreversible visual impairment, or even blindness, leaving many parents unrepentant. Timely treatment can at least preserve 1.0 vision.
Retinopathy of prematurity is divided into 5 stages, gradually worsening from stage 1 to stage 5. Among them, the third stage is the critical period of treatment, if the treatment is active, the disease can be controlled, and vice versa, the disease will deteriorate to stage 4 and stage 5. Phase 4 has little hope, and Phase 5 has no hope. The appearance of white spots in the pupil is a sign that the lesion is advanced.
Preterm infants should be screened 4 to 6 weeks after birth
At present, the principle of prevention and treatment of retinopathy of prematurity is screening, timely observation of lesions in the threshold period, and treatment within the "time window" to intercept or prevent the occurrence of advanced lesions.
The first screening of fundus in preterm infants should be started 4 to 6 weeks after birth, or 31 to 32 weeks after correction of gestational age.
Preterm infants requiring screening include preterm and low-weight infants with a birth weight of less than 2000 g or less than 32 weeks' gestational age, and require screening for fundus lesions and follow-up until peripheral retinal vascularization.
If the birth week is greater than 32 weeks, the weight is greater than 2000 g, but the birth has a serious disease, or has a long history of oxygen use, such children are also relatively high-risk groups, it is recommended to expand the scope of screening appropriately.
It should be reminded that the screening of retinopathy of prematurity is not a problem that can be solved at one time, and some premature babies should be checked several times regularly, and according to the results of the examination, they will be reviewed in strict accordance with the doctor's instructions. Fundus examination for premature infants can not be completed until the criteria of national guidelines are met.
Seize the short "time window" to carry out treatment
"Premature babies who find problems should be treated in time,
Because the 'window of effective treatment' is short,
In particular, stage 3 lesions to the time of retinal detachment,
In only 3 days, as soon as the 'time window' is closed,
The child falls into eternal darkness. ”
Xiong Lichun said.
For the treatment of retinopathy of prematurity, it mainly includes intraocular intraocular intravitreal injection and fundus laser surgery. At present, the retinopathy specialty of premature infants in the Eye Center of the Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital is the only medical institution in Fuzhou that provides pediatric fundus laser treatment.
How to prevent retinopathy of prematurity
First of all, the mother should protect herself during pregnancy to avoid premature birth of the baby.
If your baby is already born prematurely, the only effective way to prevent it is to strictly control the use of oxygen in your premature baby, avoid prolonged oxygen use, and inhale excessive concentrations of oxygen. Only when your baby's life is in danger, you can give 40% oxygen concentration.
In addition, supplementing with a large number of vitamins also has a certain preventive effect.
Because premature babies are weaker after birth, they need more nutrients to enhance their physique, which also helps to reduce the occurrence of retinopathy.
Fujian Health Daily all-media reporter: Lin Ying
Source: Fujian Health News
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