Visual impairments in the first year after traumatic brain injury.
BACKGROUND
This article reviews literature regarding individuals with traumatic brain injury who have vision related impairments up to one year, post-injury. Such impairments may impact rehabilitation of activities of daily living and mobility since vision is integral in much of what one does on a daily basis.


METHODS
Search of Medline, Ovid, and PubMed was performed using terms including: traumatic brain injury, visual deficits after brain injury, vision and traumatic brain injury, and ADLs after brain injury.


RESULTS
Eighteen studies were analyzed and reviewed. A range of visual and visual-motor impairments are seen across the severity of traumatic brain injury. Visual impairment negatively impacts independence in mobility and activities of daily living. Common sensorimotor visual symptoms reported by those with traumatic brain injury include blurred vision, reading problems, double vision or eyestrain, dizziness or disequilibrium in visually-crowded environments, visual field defects, light sensitivity, and color blindness.


CONCLUSIONS
This review should alert the reader to common visual complaints and defects seen after traumatic brain injury. It is important to screen persons who have suffered traumatic brain injury for sensorimotor vision deficits early on in recovery so that these issues may be addressed and recovery of function and independence in the community are not delayed.
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine , New York, NY 10029, USA. brian.greenwald@mountsinai.org
Brian D
BD
Greenwald
Neera
N
Kapoor
Adeepa D
AD
Singh
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D014787:Vision Tests