Eye movement training and gaze analysis for a patient with binocular diplopia after traumatic brain injury: a case report

Abstract

BackgroundPatients with traumatic brain injury often develop sequelae such as eye movement disorders, including diplopia. Eye movement training is effective in diplopia management. However, few longitudinal follow-up studies have been conducted from the subacute disease stage, owing to the complexity of methods for quantifying diplopia.Case presentationThe patient is a 30-year-old Japanese man who presented with diplopia and underwent eye movement training for approximately 4 weeks. The angle of diplopia, distance of abduction of the eye, gaze analysis, and self-assessment of diplopia using Holmes’ diplopia questionnaire were evaluated. The degree of diplopia increased from 12° to 40° on the right side. The distance of eye abduction increased from 10.4 to 12.8 mm. The self-assessment score improved from 76 to 12 points. Analysis of gaze transition revealed a reduction in the error between the target and gaze.ConclusionEye movement training was successful in ameliorating the symptoms of diplopia in the patient with binocular diplopia. Furthermore, for patients with diplopia symptoms, it was suggested that the oculomotor approach to eye movement training should not only focus on the direction of the diplopia but also on the direction opposite to the diplopia (the weak side).