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Functional visual loss: II. Psychiatric aspects in 42 patients followed for 4 years

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Roger G. Kathol ,
Terry A. Cox ,
James J. Corbett ,
H. Stanley Thompson  and
John Clancy
Roger G. Kathol*
Affiliation:
Departments of Internal Medicine, Neurology, Ophthalmology and Psychiatry, University of Iowa Hospitals, Iowa City, Iowa; and the Departments of Ophthalmology and Neurology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Terry A. Cox
Affiliation:
Departments of Internal Medicine, Neurology, Ophthalmology and Psychiatry, University of Iowa Hospitals, Iowa City, Iowa; and the Departments of Ophthalmology and Neurology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
James J. Corbett
Affiliation:
Departments of Internal Medicine, Neurology, Ophthalmology and Psychiatry, University of Iowa Hospitals, Iowa City, Iowa; and the Departments of Ophthalmology and Neurology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
H. Stanley Thompson
Affiliation:
Departments of Internal Medicine, Neurology, Ophthalmology and Psychiatry, University of Iowa Hospitals, Iowa City, Iowa; and the Departments of Ophthalmology and Neurology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
John Clancy
Affiliation:
Departments of Internal Medicine, Neurology, Ophthalmology and Psychiatry, University of Iowa Hospitals, Iowa City, Iowa; and the Departments of Ophthalmology and Neurology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Roger G. Kathol, Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, 500 Newton Road, Iowa City, Iowa 522 42, USA.
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Synopsis

Forty-two patients with functional visual loss were followed for more than 4 years after presentation. Only 22 patients had a diagnosable psychiatric syndrome or personality disorder at follow-up. Twenty-three patients continued to have findings of functional visual loss at follow-up. Despite continued signs of functional visual loss, few were socially or economically impaired, and 8 of these 23 patients had no evidence of any psychiatric disorder. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , May 1983 , pp. 315 - 324
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1983

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References

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