Jones, L;
Moosajee, M;
(2021)
Visual hallucinations and sight loss in children and young adults: a retrospective case series of Charles Bonnet syndrome.
British Journal of Ophthalmology
, 105
(11)
pp. 1604-1609.
10.1136/bjophthalmol-2020-317237.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Charles Bonnet syndrome (CBS) is a complication of sight loss affecting all ages; yet, few childhood cases have been reported. Our aim is to raise awareness of this under-reported association occurring in children and young adults in order to prevent psychological harm in this age group. METHODS: A retrospective case series reviewing medical notes of patients <25 years of age with sight loss and reported CBS at a single centre hospital eye service in London, United Kingdom. Search of electronic patient records identified 13 patients experiencing hallucinatory events over a 9-year period. Outcomes were patient demographics including ocular diagnosis, visual acuity at time of onset, characteristics of hallucinations, clinical management strategies and patient-reported affliction. RESULTS: Eight patients were diagnosed with progressive inherited retinal diseases, primarily Stargardt disease (N=5). Clinical history indicated patients had significantly reduced best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in at least one eye at onset; median (IQR) worse eye BCVA was 1.0 (0.86-1.6) logarithm of minimum angle of resolution(LogMAR). CBS significantly affected patients' personal lives including education, diet and sleep. Clinical management was varied, mostly relating to reassurance at the point of contact. CONCLUSION: We describe the clinical features of young patients with CBS, with management strategies and aspects of negative outcomes. High potential caseload and risk of psychological harm merit further research. Increased awareness among healthcare professionals and patient education to forewarn susceptible individuals may reduce the overall impact and improve coping with symptoms.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Visual hallucinations and sight loss in children and young adults: a retrospective case series of Charles Bonnet syndrome |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1136/bjophthalmol-2020-317237 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1136/bjophthalmol-2020-317237 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Institute of Ophthalmology |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10110503 |
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