PEDIATRICS Vol. 82 No. 2 August 1988, pp. 193-198
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Ricci, B.
Right arrow Articles by Calogero, G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Ricci, B.
Right arrow Articles by Calogero, G.

Oxygen-Induced Retinopathy in Newborn Rats: Effects of Prolonged Normobaric and Hyperbaric Oxygen Supplementation

Benedetto Ricci MD1 and Giuseppe Calogero MD1

1 From the Department of Ophthalmology, Catholic University, Policlinico "A. Gemelli," Rome

An experimental study was conducted to verify the effects of prolonged normobaric and hyperbaric oxygen supplementation on retinal vessels in newborn animals. Nine litters of newborn Wistar rats were used in the following way. Two litters were used as controls. Two other litters received normobaric oxygen supplementation (FiO2 80%) for five days after birth. These rats were then removed and kept for five more days in room air. Retinopathy with marked peripheral retinal neovascularization was seen in these litters. Three other litters were exposed to the same treatment for ten days after birth, removed from oxygen, and kept for 15 more days in room air. Severe retinopathy with extraretinal proliferation and, in some cases, retinal detachment developed in these animals. Two other litters received hyperbaric (1.80 atm) oxygen supplementation (FiO2 80%) for ten days after birth and were then kept for 15 days in normobaric room air. These animals showed no evidence of peripheral retinopathy. It is possible that moderate hyperbarism exerts, in the newborn rat, a protective action against the toxic effects of oxygen supplementation on immature retinal vessels.

Key Words: retinopathy of prematurity • oxygen • rat • hyperbarism

Submitted on July 20, 1987
Accepted on November 18, 1987