Article

Although traumatic brain injury (TBI) can happen to anyone at any time, the wars
in Iraq and Afghanistan have brought it renewed attention. Fortunately, most
cases of TBI from the recent conflicts are mild TBI (mTBI). Still, many physical,
psychological, and social problems are associated with mTBI. Among the
difficulties encountered are oculomotor and vision problems, many of which can
impede daily activities such as reading. Therefore, correct diagnosis and
treatment of these mTBI-related vision problems is an important part of patient
recovery. Numerous eye care providers in the Department of Veterans Affairs, in
military settings, and in civilian practices specialize and are proficient in
examining patients who have a history of TBI. However, many do not have this
level of experience working with and treating patients with mTBI. Recognizing
this, we used a modified Delphi method to derive expert opinions from a panel of
16 optometrists concerning visual examination of the patient with mTBI. This
process resulted in a clinical tool containing 17 history questions and 7
examination procedures. This tool provides a set of clinical guidelines that can
be used as desired by any eye care provider either as a screening tool or adjunct
to a full eye examination when seeing a patient with a history of mTBI. The goal
of this process was to provide optimal and uniform vision care for the patient
with mTBI.

Langue : ANGLAIS