Original Research Article
Year: 2017 | Month: April | Volume: 7 | Issue: 4 | Pages: 154-159
Binocular Visual Skills in Patients with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Mrudul S. Naik1, Dr H V Savant2, Onkar H Pirdankar3
1Consultant Optometrist, Lotus Eye Hospital, 13th NS Road, Juhu, Mumbai 400049
2Professor and Head Neurosurgery Department Topiwala National Medical College and B. Y. L. Nair Hospital, Dr. A.L. Nair road, Mumbai 400008
3Assistant Professor, Lotus College of Optometry, Lotus Eye Hospital, 13th NS Road, Juhu, Mumbai 400049
Corresponding Author: Onkar H Pirdankar
ABSTRACT
Purpose: To assess binocular visual skills in patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).
Methods: It was a case control study including medically-documented mTBI subjects aged between the 15-35 years. Subjects with best corrected visual acuity of 0.13 LogMAR or better for distance and those who had head trauma at least six months prior to testing were included. Subjects with moderate to severe brain injury, polytrauma, stroke, visual field loss, a history of vision therapy, other neurological conditions, one eyed and strabismic patients were excluded. The age and gender matched subjects without history of either brain injury or binocular dysfunction were also included as a control group. All subjects underwent binocular visual tests, including near point of convergence (NPC), accommodative amplitude (AA), positive and negative relative accommodation (PRA and NRA), accommodative lens facility, positive and negative fusional vergence for near, reading speed were evaluated.
Results: The study included 28 mTBI patients and 28 age and gender matched controls with mean± SD age of 24.57±5.23 and 24.96±4.66 years respectively. An independent t-test was carried out (α<0.05) using SPSS 20 which showed that binocular vision skills including, NPC break and recovery, NRA, PRA, AA, accommodative facility, PFV, NFV, and reading speed were significantly reduced in mTBI subjects as compared to control.
Conclusion: Binocular visual skills are affected in subjects with mTBI. Impaired binocular visual skills could affect daily living activities and therefore these skills needs to be assessed during optometric examination.
Key words: Mild traumatic brain injury; binocular visual skills.