title: Visual function, traumatic brain injury, and posttraumatic stress disorder.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, 795 Willow Road Bldg T-365, Menlo Park, CA 94025. Gregory.Goodrich@va.gov.
authors.forename: Gregory L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Goodrich
authors.forename: Gary L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Martinsen
authors.forename: Heidi M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Flyg
authors.forename: Jennine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kirby
authors.forename: Donn W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Garvert
authors.forename: Christopher W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Tyler
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000328:Adult; D001753:Blast Injuries / Q000150:complications; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D014754:Violence; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D014787:Vision Tests; D014792:Visual Acuity; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: binocular vision; blast-related; medication side 
  effects; non–blast-related; oculomotor function; posttraumatic 
  stress disorder; traumatic brain injury; vision 
  loss; vision function; visual symptoms