Cerebral visual impairment in children: Multicentric study determining the causes, associated neurological and ocular findings, and risk factors for severe vision impairment

• Published in: Indian journal of ophthalmology Vol. 70; no. 12; pp. 4410 - 4415
• Main Authors: Mohapatra, Monalisa, Rath, Soveeta, Agarwal, Pradeep, Singh, Abhishek, Singh, Rupali, Sutar, Sameer, Sahu, Anupam, Maan, Veenu, Ganesh, Suma
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: India Wolters Kluwer India Pvt. Ltd 01.12.2022; Medknow Publications and Media Pvt. Ltd; Medknow Publications & Media Pvt. Ltd; Wolters Kluwer - Medknow; Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
• Subjects: Atrophy; Brain damage; Brain injury; Care and treatment; cerebral visual impairment in children; Child; Confidence intervals; Convulsions & seizures; Cross-Sectional Studies; Developmental disabilities; Diagnosis; Encephalopathy; Female; Humans; Hypoxia; hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy; Infant; Ischemia; Male; Neurological complications; Optic Atrophy; Optic nerve; Original; Paralysis; Patients; Pregnancy; Rehabilitation; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors; Seizures; severe visual impairment in children; Vision; Vision disorders in children; Vision, Low; Visual impairment; India; hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy; Cerebral visual impairment in children; severe visual impairment in children
• ISSN: 0301-4738; 1998-3689
• DOI: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_801_22

Purpose: To evaluate the causes, associated neurological and ocular findings in children with cerebral visual impairment (CVI), and to identify risk factors for severe vision impairment. Methods: A multicenter, retrospective, cross-sectional analysis was carried out from January 2017 to December 2019 on patients less than 16 years of age with a diagnosis of CVI. Results: A total of 405 patients were included of which 61.2% were male and 38.8% were female. The median age at presentation was 4 years (range 3 months to 16 years). Antenatal risk factors were present in 14% of the cases. The most common cause of CVI was hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (35.1%), followed by seizure associated with brain damage (31.3%). The most common neurological finding was seizure (50.4%), followed by cerebral palsy (13.6%). Associated ophthalmological findings were significant refractive error (63.2%), esotropia (22.2%), exotropia, (38%), nystagmus (33.3%), and optic nerve atrophy (25.9%). Severe visual impairment (<20/200) was associated with optic atrophy (odds ratio: 2.9, 95% confidence interval: 1.4-6.0; P = 0.003) and seizure disorder (odds ratio: 1.9, 95% confidence interval: 1.2-3.3; P = 0.012). Conclusion: The various ophthalmic, neurological manifestations and etiologies could guide the multidisciplinary team treating the child with CVI in understanding the visual impairment that affects the neuro development of the child and in planning rehabilitation strategies.