Steroid treatment in very low birth weight infants may contribute to vision problems

(Elsevier Health Sciences) It has long been suspected that steroids may have negative neurodevelopmental effects on very premature infants. In a study in the Journal of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, researchers found that for very premature infants with birth weights of less than 500 grams, there was a 1.6 times increased risk for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and a 1.7 times greater chance for advanced ROP.