Impact of Prematurity on the Optic Nerve

The prematurity of the newborn is now a major theme in medical research. Indeed, technological progress makes it possible to revive increasingly premature children. But being born premature also brings many complications, some of which are already well known (pulmonary, cardiac, digestive complications, etc....). At the ophthalmological level, the retinopathy of the premature child is an entity already well described, this retinal vascularization anomaly leads to many complications on the child's visual future. The optic nerves of premature infants are described as larger than those of normal children.

Recently, a new ophthalmological condition has been described. This is the damage to the optic nerve of the premature baby, characterized by a loss of optical fibres, of major importance in the transmission of the visual signal to the brain.

The aim of this study is to characterize the particularities of the optic nerve of the premature child, as there is currently very little data available on it in this context. Some studies have reported this, but with results that are not always homogeneous. For example, some studies report a lack of optic fiber in the temporal area of the optic nerve, while others find more pronounced atrophy on the nasal side, which has practical consequences in the examination and monitoring of these children.

A better understanding of these disorders would make it possible to establish monitoring protocols for these children born with nerve fibre deficiency, especially to prevent subsequent fibre loss due to any pathology of ocular tone, the best known of which is glaucoma.

The purpose of this prospective study is to compare the aspects of optic nerves in premature infants compared to those of optic nerves in non-premature infants. This aspect changes with age, with a progressive physiological decrease in the thickness of optic fiber within the optic nerve over time. It is therefore essential to match the two age groups to exploit this data.

Inclusion criteria

• For patients:
• between 5 and 10 years old
• Premature births: before 37 weeks of amenorrhea
• To be able to benefit from the examinations necessary for the study (being able to set a target, to install correctly on the machines)

For control:

• Aged between 5 and 10 years old
• Born after 37 SA
• No known ophthalmological pathologies
• To be able to benefit from the examinations necessary for the study (being able to set a target, to install correctly on the machines)

Exclusion criteria

• Patients who cannot benefit from the examinations (patients in wheelchairs, whose psychomotor delay prevents a good understanding of the examination and the need to set a target)
• patient under the protection of justice.