Materials and Methods: Premature infants with a birth weight <1,500 g and a gestational age <32 weeks were included. There were 13 preterm infants whom needed laser treatment for ROP (group 1), 12 preterm infants (group 2) without ROP and 15 term infants as the control group (group 3). We assessed patients with retinoscopy, srtabismus examination (tropias) and fundus examination at the end of their fi rst year. Refraction was expressed as spherical equivalent refraction (SER) (SER= spherical refraction+1/2 cylindirical refraction.) Defi nition of hyperopia was SER ?+2,00 D; miyopia was SER ? -0,5; astigmatism was as absolute cylindirical refraction ? 1,00 D.

Results: The prevalence of refractive errors and ocular alignment abnormalities at 1 year old in groups 1 and 2 compared to group 3 were, respectively: myopia %7,7 and %0 versus %6,7 (p>0.05); hyperopia %26,9 and %87,5 versus %60 (p<0.05); astigmatism %53,8 and %54,8 versus %43,3 (p>0.05); and strabismus %15,4 and %16,7 versus %26,7 (p>0.05). (Fig 1)

Conclusion: We recorded higher rates of hiperopia in preterm infants (p<0.05) and the risk of developing this disorder decreased signifi cantly with ROP laser treatment. Myopia, astigmatism and strabismus rates were not different between three groups. The parents of the premature babies should be informed of the possible risks of refractive disorders and ocular alignment abnormalities. Keywords : Refraction, Retinopathy of prematurity, Strabismus