Bilateral internuclear ophthalmoplegia following minor head trauma

• Published in: The Journal of emergency medicine Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 19 - 22
• Main Authors: Walsh, William P, Hafner, John W, Kattah, Jorge C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 2003; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Biological and medical sciences; Craniocerebral Trauma - complications; Craniocerebral Trauma - diagnosis; emergency medical services; Emergency Service, Hospital; Follow-Up Studies; head trauma; Humans; Injury Severity Score; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medical sciences; minor internuclear ophthalmoplegia (INO); Neurologic Examination; Ocular Motility Disorders - diagnosis; Ocular Motility Disorders - etiology; Oculomotor disorders; Ophthalmology; Ophthalmoplegia - diagnosis; Ophthalmoplegia - etiology; Risk Assessment; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; emergency medical services; minor internuclear ophthalmoplegia (INO); head trauma; Craniocerebral; Diseases of the osteoarticular system; Bilateral; Male; Intensive care unit; Adult; Complication; Diagnosis; Oculomotor syndrome; Human; Nervous system diseases; Radiodiagnosis; Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; Trauma; Cerebral disorder; Case study; Internuclear ophthalmoplegia; Eye disease; Central nervous system disease; Skull disease; Medical imagery; Computerized axial tomography
• DOI: 10.1016/S0736-4679(02)00662-5
• ISSN: 0736-4679

Internuclear ophthalmoplegia (INO) is characterized by pathognomonic findings on neurological examination. It results from a lesion in the medial longitudinal fasciculus (MLF) and is rarely caused by head trauma. The neuroanatomy of INO is complex and the mechanism by which trauma causes this syndrome is controversial. In the context of trauma, INO occurs frequently in association with other neurological findings and should prompt a thorough investigation and ICU admission. A case of an individual with acute post-traumatic INO is reported and discussed.