The incidence of visual perceptual impairment in patients with severe traumatic brain injury.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the incidence of visual perceptual impairments in a sample of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) using the Occupational Therapy Adult Perceptual Screening Test (OT-APST), compare incidence rates to a normative sample and explore the relationship between the presence of visual perceptual impairment and the severity of cognitive and functional impairment following TBI.


METHODS
Cohort study using a convenience sample of patients with TBI and a normative sample.


METHODS
Thirty-one patients with severe TBI and 195 healthy people were compared on the OT-APST and measures of cognition and function.


RESULTS
The most common impairments in the TBI sample were unilateral neglect (45.2%) and impairments of body scheme (25.8%) and constructional skills (25.8%). Significantly higher incidences of agnosia, apraxia, unilateral neglect and impairments in body scheme and constructional skills were found in the TBI sample compared to the normative sample. No significant relationship was found between the presence of visual perceptual impairments and the level of cognitive and functional impairment after TBI.


CONCLUSIONS
Visual perceptual changes are evident in patients with severe TBI when compared to a normative sample. Routine use of a screening tool such as the OT-APST may help identify visual perceptual impairments in these patients and the need for more detailed assessment.
McKenna
Kryss
K
Division of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Cooke
Deirdre M
DM
Fleming
Jennifer
J
Jefferson
Alanna
A
Ogden
Sarah
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D014796:Visual Perception