Background and study aims When an infant is born premature, the blood vessels in the eyes have not developed fully on the retina, and can start to grow incorrectly and result in blindness. To prevent this from happening, premature infants are often screened, and treated with laser or injections into the eye to prevent retinal detachment. A new treatment strategy with steroid eye drops have been found to prevent serious blood vessel growth. The treatment is commonly used in older children and adults to treat different inflammatory conditions, but how the drop is absorbed in premature infants and if there is any risk of side-effects is poorly investigated. The aim of this study is to document how the steroid drop is absorbed and excreted in premature infants and to study if there is a risk of any side effects. Who can participate? Premature infants born before gestational age week 30, that undergo eye-screening at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg and Skånes University Hospital in Malmö and Lund or at Helsingborg Hospital, in the need for steroid eye-drop treatment against pathological vessels. It is not possible to participate if the infant has received systemic steroid treatment 2 weeks prior to the eye-drop treatment, or has an ongoing ocular infection. What does the study involve? The study involves blood and saliva samples according to a specific protocol designed to be able to learn about the uptake and breakdown of the steroid in premature infants. Measurements of blood pressure, growth and a few urine samples will also be collected during the treatment period usually lasting for some weeks. At 2.5 and 5 years of age, visual acuity, refractive errors and retinal thickness measurements will be noted. What are the possible benefits and risks of participating? The infant will receive steroid eye-drops that have been noted to heavily reduce the number of infants that develop retinal changes that require injections or laser treatment. The blood samples have been reduced to an absolute minimum in volume and numbers, but will entail some extra samplings from the infant. The infant will be rigorously checked with regard to any possible side effects from the steroid treatment. Possible but unlikely side effects from the low dose in eye drops are; elevated blood pressure, retarded growth, lowered endogenous steroid production during the eye-drop treatment, increase in blood glucose, and an increase in intra-ocular pressure.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
15
one drop daily in each eye with retinopathy of prematurity of a predefined stage.
Skåne University Hospital
Lund, Skåne County, Sweden
RECRUITINGSahlgrenska University Hospital
Gothenburg, Västra Götaland County, Sweden
RECRUITINGPharmacokinetics: half-life of plasma concentrations of dexamethasone during treatment with dexamethasone eye drops measured with mass spectrometry.
Half-life of dexamethasone- t½, hours
Time frame: up to 14 weeks
Pharmacokinetics: maximum plasma concentration of dexamethasone during treatment with dexamethasone eye drops measured with mass spectrometry.
Maximum plasma concentration- Cmax, nmol/L
Time frame: up to 14 weeks
Pharmacokinetics: saliva koncentrations of dexamethasone during treatment with dexamethasone eye drops.
Half-life of dexamethasone- t½, hours
Time frame: up to 14 weeks
Pharmacokinetics: saliva koncentrations of dexamethasone during treatment with dexamethasone eye drops measured with mass spectrometry.
Maximum saliva concentration- Cmax, nmol/L
Time frame: up to 14 weeks
Pharmacokinetics: time to reach maximum plasma concentration of dexamethasone during treatment with dexamethasone eye drops measured with mass spectrometry.
tmax, hours
Time frame: up to 14 weeks
Pharmacokinetics: time to reach maximum saliva concentrations of dexamethasone during treatment with dexamethasone eye drops measured with mass spectrometry.
tmax, hours
Time frame: up to 14 weeks
Pharmacokinetics: area under the concentration-time curve for plasma dexamethasone from time point 0 to time t of the last measured concentration above the limit of quantification time.
AUC0-t, nmol.h/L
Time frame: up to 14 weeks
Pharmacokinetics: area under the concentration-time curve for saliva dexamethasone from time point 0 to time t of the last measured concentration above the limit of quantification time.
AUC0-t, nmol.h/L
Time frame: up to 14 weeks
Pharmacokinetics: area under the concentration-time curve for plasma dexamethasone from time point 0 to infinity;
AUC0-∞, nmol.h/L
Time frame: up to 14 weeks
Pharmacokinetics: area under the concentration-time curve for saliva dexamethasone from time point 0 to infinity;
AUC0-∞, nmol.h/L
Time frame: up to 14 weeks
Pharmacokinetics: apparent total body clearance
CL/F, L/h
Time frame: up to 14 weeks
Pharmacokinetics: apparent volume of distribution
Vz/F, L
Time frame: up to 14 weeks
Safety: serum concentrations of endogenous corticosteroids before, during and after treatment with dexamethasone eye drops measured with mass spectrometry.
Endogenous levels of corticosteroids, nmol/L
Time frame: up to 14 weeks
Safety: saliva concentrations of endogenous corticosteroids before, during and after treatment with dexamethasone eye drops.
Endogenous levels of corticosteroids, nmol/L
Time frame: up to 14 weeks
To describe if dexamethasone eye drops delay the intervention for type 1 ROP in cases without regression by calculating the time from detection of type 2 ROP to type 1 ROP
Time from detection of type 2 ROP to type 1 ROP, days
Time frame: Up to 14 weeks
To describe if dexamethasone eye drop treatment before intervention for type 1 ROP reduces the number of recurrences after the intervention.
recurrences after laser/anti-VEGF treatment, percentage
Time frame: Up to 14 weeks
To find out if retinal morphology measured with optical coherence tomography is affected by dexamethasone eye drops at 2.5 years of age.
Retinal thickness, micrometers
Time frame: after 2.5 years
To find out if retinal morphology measured with optical coherence tomography is affected by dexamethasone eye drops at 5 years of age.
Retinal thickness, micrometers
Time frame: after 5 years
To find out if dexamethasone eye drops affect visual acuity at 2.5 years of age
Visual acuity according to Snellen, fraction
Time frame: after 2.5 years
To find out if dexamethasone eye drops affect refractive errors at 2.5 years of age
Refractive power, diopters
Time frame: after 2.5 years
To find out if dexamethasone eye drops affect visual acuity at 5 years of age
Visual acuity according to Snellen, fraction
Time frame: after 5 years
To find out if dexamethasone eye drops affect refractive errors at 5 years of age
refractive power, diopters
Time frame: after 5 years
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