title: Prevalence of visual problems among stroke survivors in Hong Kong Chinese.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Stroke, a common cerebrovascular accident, usually results in various extents of functional disability. Extensive studies have shown that ocular and visual problems are common in patients with stroke. Unfortunately, current stroke rehabilitation programs rarely address stroke-related ocular and visual problems in Hong Kong.
  
  
  METHODS
  To examine how visual impairment (for example, deterioration in visual acuity and restriction in visual field) affects the stroke population in Hong Kong, vision screening was conducted for post-stroke patients attending in-patient and out-patient stroke clinics at two hospitals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred and thirteen stroke patients were recruited. The percentage of various aspects of visual problems in Hong Kong post-stroke patients was generally lower than that reported in Western countries; however, a high percentage of patients had deficits in oculomotor (53.1 per cent) and vergence functions (11.5 per cent), restrictions in binocular visual field (11.5 per cent) and impairment in visual acuity (worse than 0.30 logMAR, 29.8 per cent). Conversely, only a small proportion of patients noticed problems with their vision (for example, diplopia and blurry vision) through subjective reports. This revealed that many post-stroke patients had undetected or undiagnosed ocular and visual problems. Appropriate referral was given to patients with visual problems for further evaluation and treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Neglecting visual problems may impose deteriorating effect on patients' stroke rehabilitation and functional independence and lead to increased incidents of injury. To address this potential hindrance in rehabilitation, formal screening for visual problems in stroke patients in a rehabilitation setting is essential.
authors.affiliation: School of Optometry, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Kar Ho
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Siong
authors.forename: George C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Woo
authors.forename: Dora Yuk-Lin
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Kenneth Yiu Kwan
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Leonard Sheung Wai
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Hobby Kwong Yu
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.forename: Claudia Kam Yuk
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Allen Ming Yan
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Cheong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications*; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation; D017741:Survivors; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D015351:Vision Screening; D014792:Visual Acuity; D014794:Visual Fields; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Hong Kong Chinese; binocular abnormalities; binocular vision; oculomotor deficits; stroke; visual deficits