Visually-symptomatic Individuals with Acquired Brain Injury a Retrospective Study

We reviewed the records of 220 visually symptomatic, ambulatory patients with acquired brain injury. These patients were examined at the State University of New York, State College of Optometry’s Raymond J. Greenwald Rehabilitation Center (RJGRC). The records were divided into sub-groups of mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) and cerebral vascular accident (CVA). The former group accounted for 160 patients and the latter 60 patients. They were profiled with respect to: patient demographics, referral sources, frequency of multiple TBIs, past/concurrent rehabilitative therapies, presenting spectacle lens types, vestibular symptoms, vision symptoms, and medical histories. Patients in both sub-groups were primarily referred to the RJGRC by the departments of rehabilitation medicine in local hospitals. Physical therapy was the most frequently reported either previous or current therapy. Single vision spectacle lenses were most common to both. Over 55% of each sub-group reported loss of balance as their primary vestibular symptom. Eyestrain at near was the most frequently reported vision symptom in the TBI sub-group, whereas blur at near was most frequently reported for the CVA sub-group. Joint pain was the most frequently reported medical symptom in TBI, and numbness/weakness of extremities was the most reported for CVA. Obtaining a profile of various aspects of TBI and CVA patients can alert the clinician to various conditions and aspects that are characteristic of these patients to assist in case management.