Transient Blindness Following Mild Head Trauma

Abstract

A series of seven children in Hawaii experienced transient cortical blindness following mild head trauma. All children, ages 3 through 8, recovered fully. The most prominent clinical feature was initial restlessness and agitation following relatively mild head trauma without significant loss of consciousness (LOC). One child may have experienced this several times. The clinical features associated with a benign outcome in this syndrome include: pediatric age group, mild head trauma, brief or no LOC, onset of blindness occurring within hours of the head injury, absent optokinetic nystagmus, duration of blindness less than 24 hours, agitation and restlessness, absence of skull fracture or visible cerebral injury on CT scan, absence of other neurological deficits, and EEG findings that initially show posterior slowing with subsequent normalization. Transiently fixed and dilated pupils have been described in these patients but should be viewed cautiously by clinicians in making this diagnosis, since cortical blindness is defined by sparing of the pupils. This syndrome may be underdiagnosed, since it may not be obvious that the child is blind unless the diagnosis is considered.