Article

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are
signature injuries of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. The conditions can be
comorbid and have overlapping signs and symptoms, making it difficult to diagnose
and treat each. TBI is associated with numerous changes in vision function, but
vision problems secondary to PTSD have not been documented. To address this
shortcoming, we reviewed the medical records of 100 patients with a history of
TBI, noting PTSD diagnoses, visual symptoms, vision function abnormalities, and
medications with visual side effects. Forty-one patients had PTSD and 59 did not.
High rates of binocular vision and oculomotor function deficits were measured in
patients with a history of TBI, but no significant differences between patients
with or without PTSD were evident. However, compared to patients without PTSD,
patients with PTSD had more self-reported visual symptoms in all four assessments
and the complaint rates were significantly higher for light sensitivity and
reading problems. Together, these findings may be beneficial in understanding
vision problems in patients with TBI and PTSD as comorbid conditions compared
with those with TBI alone.

Langue : ANGLAIS