Visual dysfunction is underestimated in patients with acquired brain injury

More than 50% of human cerebral activity is related to vision. Visual impairments are therefore common after acquired brain injury, although they are often overlooked. In order to evaluate the prevalence of visual deficits in our Out-patient Brain Injury Program, a structured screening questionnaire...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of rehabilitation medicine Vol. 49; no. 4; pp. 327 - 332
Main Authors Berthold-Lindstedt, Märta, Ygge, Jan, Borg, Kristian
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Sweden Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine 2017
Subjects
Acquired
Brain injuries
Brain Injuries - complications
Brain Injuries - rehabilitation
Female
Humans
Injuries
Male
Medical diagnosis
Medical screening
Medicin och hälsovetenskap
Questionnaires
Reading disabilities
Rehabilitation
Surveys and Questionnaires
Teams
Vision Disorders - etiology
Visual impairment
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Summary:More than 50% of human cerebral activity is related to vision. Visual impairments are therefore common after acquired brain injury, although they are often overlooked. In order to evaluate the prevalence of visual deficits in our Out-patient Brain Injury Program, a structured screening questionnaire, the Visual Interview, was administered. A total of 170 patients with acquired brain injury, mean age 47 years, who were enrolled in the programme during 2010-12, underwent the Visual Interview. The interview consists of 18 questions concerning visual impairment and was performed on admission. The different types of visual impairment were compared with regard to sex and diagnosis. Fifty-four percent of the patients reported visual changes, mainly reading difficulties, photosensitivity, blurred vision and disorders of the visual field. Sixteen patients who did not experience visual changes also reported visual symptoms in 4-9 questions. Only slight differences were noted in the occurrence of visual symptoms when correlated with sex or diagnosis. Visual impairments are common after acquired brain injury, but some patients do not define their problems as vision-related. A structured questionnaire, covering the most common visual symptoms, is helpful for the rehabilitation team to facilitate assessment of visual changes.
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ISSN:1650-1977
1651-2081
1651-2081
DOI:10.2340/16501977-2218