Browsing by Author "Freeman, N."

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    Prevalence of and risk factors for retinopathy of prematurity in a cohort of preterm infants treated exclusively with non-invasive ventilation in the first week after birth
    (Health & Medical Publishing Group, 2013-01-14) Van der Merwe, S. K.; Freeman, N.; Bekker, A.; Harvey, J.; Smith, J.
    Objectives. To determine the current prevalence of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in premature babies treated with non-invasive ventilation at Tygerberg Children’s Hospital, Parow, Cape Town, South Africa, and to identify risk factors associated with the development of ROP. Methods. A retrospective medical records review of infants screened for ROP during a 2-year period (January 2009 - December 2010). Infants who did not receive invasive ventilation during the first week of life were included. Twenty-four previously reported risk factors for the development of ROP were identified for use in a multivariate logistic regression (MLR) analysis. Results. A total of 356 patients were included. The overall prevalence of ROP was 21.8% and that of clinically significant ROP (CSROP) 4.4%. The risk factors with a statistically significant association with the development of ROP on MLR analysis were severe apnoea (p=0.0005) and decreasing birth weight (p=0.0382). Conclusions. There is a low prevalence of ROP in the cohort of preterm infants treated exclusively with non-invasive ventilation in the first week of life. The risk factors of importance in our population were severe apnoea and lower birth weight. Birth weight is a practical and reproducible variable that can be used to aid development of ROP screening criteria.
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    Screening for retinitis in children with probable systemic cytomegalovirus infection at Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa
    (Health and Medical Publishing Group, 2017) Engelbrecht, J. F.; Freeman, N.; Rautenbach, R. M.
    Background. The incidence of immunocompromised children with probable systemic cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is increasing. Currently, there is no protocol for screening children for CMV retinitis in South Africa. Screening for CMV retinitis may prevent permanent visual impairment. Objectives. To determine the prevalence of retinitis in children with probable systemic CMV infection. To assess the value of clinical and laboratory data in identifying risk factors for the development of CMV retinitis in children. Methods. A retrospective, cross-sectional study design was used. All children (≤12 years) with probable systemic CMV infection who underwent ophthalmic screening over a 5-year period, were included. Presumed CMV retinitis was diagnosed by dilated fundoscopy. All cases were evaluated to identify possible risk factors for the development of CMV retinitis. Results. A total of 164 children were screened. Presumed CMV retinitis was diagnosed in 4.9% of participants. Causes of immunosuppression were HIV infection (n=7) and chemotherapy (n=1). HIV infection showed a definite trend towards association with the development of CMV retinitis in our study population (p=0.064). Conclusion.The prevalence of CMV retinitis was 4.9% in our sample. Other than HIV, we were not able to identify additional risk factors for CMV retinitis. Our results show that CD4 levels are possibly not a reliable indicator to predict CMV retinitis.
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    Shigella Keratitis in an HIV-exposed infant
    (LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS, 530 WALNUT ST, PHILADELPHIA, USA, PA,19106-3621, 2013) Freeman, N.; Newman, H.; Abrahams, R.