Validating an inventory for assessment of visual deficits in children
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Validating a structured structured inventory for assessment of higher visual function deficits in children with cerebral damage.
IRAS ID
193841
Contact name
Arvind Chandna
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Alder Hey Children's Hospital
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 0 days
Research summary
Cerebral damage in children may result in visual impairment (CVI) which may include higher visual function deficits (HVFD). CVI is the major cause of visual impairment in children. Children with CVI suffer from a range of difficulties such as cerebral blindness and cognitive challenges due to visual impairment and visual perceptual dysfunction. Less severe damage limits the quality of images perceived. This subsequently affects the visual guidance of the eye, head and body movement, visual acuity and fields disturbing face and object recognition, visual search and attention. Due to blurred images, visual information cannot be processed in the visual ares of the brain effectively and this leads to poor vision.
Consequently, structured history taking can facilitate identification of children suffering from HVFDs, especially in those whom initial concern has been expressed about their vision. The CVI question inventory has been derived from clinical experience in diagnosing and managing affected children. Having this practical tool for structured history taking will enable earlier identification of HVFDs and subsequently allow optimal rehabilitation. This tool has already been investigated in prematurely born children, and it would be useful to further investigate its use in other causes of HVFDs.
With CVI being the leading cause of childhood visual disability in developed countries and the prevalence increasing, it is necessary to investigate methods of early identification to limit the difficulties faced by children during their development. The prevalence of visual impairment in children less than 16 years of age is approximately 10-22 cases per 10,000 births in developed countries, and 40 cases per 10,000 births in developing countries. However this figure would be much greater if the unrecognised higher functioning children with HVFDs were identified and included. This highlights the need for further research into validated methods of early identification of CVI.
REC name
East of England - Essex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/EE/0062
Date of REC Opinion
6 May 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion