The treatment methods for post‐stroke visual impairment: A systematic review

• Published in: Brain and behavior Vol. 7; no. 5; pp. e00682 - n/a
• Main Authors: Hanna, Kerry Louise, Hepworth, Lauren Rachel, Rowe, Fiona J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.05.2017; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Adult; Blindness; Clinical trials; Humans; intervention; management; Review; Reviews; Stroke; Stroke - complications; Stroke Rehabilitation - methods; Systematic review; treatment; Vision Disorders - complications; Vision Disorders - therapy; Visual impairment; visual impairment; treatment; intervention; management; stroke; review
• ISSN: 2162-3279; 2162-3279
• DOI: 10.1002/brb3.682

Aim To provide a systematic overview of interventions for stroke related visual impairments. Method A systematic review of the literature was conducted including randomized controlled trials, controlled trials, cohort studies, observational studies, systematic reviews, and retrospective medical note reviews. All languages were included and translation obtained. This review covers adult participants (aged 18 years or over) diagnosed with a visual impairment as a direct cause of a stroke. Studies which included mixed populations were included if over 50% of the participants had a diagnosis of stroke and were discussed separately. We searched scholarly online resources and hand searched articles and registers of published, unpublished, and ongoing trials. Search terms included a variety of MESH terms and alternatives in relation to stroke and visual conditions. Article selection was performed by two authors independently. Data were extracted by one author and verified by a second. The quality of the evidence and risk of bias was assessed using appropriate tools dependant on the type of article. Results Forty‐nine articles (4142 subjects) were included in the review, including an overview of four Cochrane systematic reviews. Interventions appraised included those for visual field loss, ocular motility deficits, reduced central vision, and visual perceptual deficits. Conclusion Further high quality randomized controlled trials are required to determine the effectiveness of interventions for treating post‐stroke visual impairments. For interventions which are used in practice but do not yet have an evidence base in the literature, it is imperative that these treatments be addressed and evaluated in future studies. The aim of this review is to provide a systematic overview of the interventions for post‐stroke visual impairments. A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted and a risk of bias and quality of evidence assessment undertaken for each article. Further high quality trials are required to determine the effectiveness of interventions and to establish an evidence base for those currently being used in practice without supportive evidence.