Association between post-concussion symptoms and oculomotor deficits among adolescents.

The study was retrospective and used records from a single specialty concussion clinic, so it may overrepresent patients with persistent, multisystem symptoms. There was no control group of adolescents without concussion or without persistent symptoms. Only 140 of 183 patients seen were included; exclusions removed patients with poor visual acuity, strabismus or amblyopia, incomplete PCSS or oculomotor records, prior vision therapy, or evaluation outside the clinic pathway. Because 29 patients completed only the first 14 CISS questions, CISS scores were based on 14 items rather than the usual 15. The analysis found associations, not causation; it did not test whether treating accommodation deficits changes symptoms. Nonvisual concussion diagnoses were not considered, so symptoms may have had other causes. The PCSS was not designed to fully capture vision-specific problems, and the CISS is not commonly used in routine concussion evaluation. The authors note generalizability is limited to chronically symptomatic patients from a single geographic region at a tertiary-care academic facility.

The supplied text lists NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support, but no author conflict-of-interest declaration or funding statement is included in the article text provided.

Do not conclude that vision therapy or treating accommodation deficits will reduce post-concussion symptoms. This was a retrospective association among patients already selected for persistent symptoms, with no control group and no treatment tested.