Viual hallucination in patient with retinal dieae

PURPOE: To invetigate the prevalence and phenomenologic nature of viual hallucination among patient with retinal dieae and to invetigate whether preence of hallucination i a ignificant predictor of functional tatu, quality of life, and/or emotional ditre after adjuting for viual acuity. DEIGN: Cro-ectional tudy. METHOD: Eighty-ix conecutive patient at the Wilmer Ophthalmologic Intitute Retinal Vacular Center were interviewed uing the ickne Impact Profile, Community Diability cale, General Health Quetionnaire, Viual Phenomena Interview, Eyenck Peronality Quetionnaire, and Telephone Interview for Cognitive tatu. REULT: The prevalence of viual hallucination wa 15.1%. Mot were formed hallucination in clear concioune that lated for econd to minute. The majority of patient had been experiencing viual hallucination for le than 1 year (61.5%) or for 1 to 2 year (23.1%). Only two of the 13 patient with hallucination had informed a phyician of their hallucination. Univariate analye revealed that variable ignificantly aociated with experiencing hallucination were female ex, wore viual acuity, bilateral viual impairment, emotional ditre, decreaed functional tatu, and decreaed quality of life. Regreion analyi demontrated that among patient with relatively good viion, thoe who experienced hallucination were more emotionally ditreed and had a lower quality of life than patient without hallucination. CONCLUION: Viual hallucination among patient with retinal dieae are common, underdiagnoed, and not aociated with cognitive deficit, abnormal peronality trait, or a family or peronal hitory of pychiatric morbidity. Among patient with relatively good viion, hallucination are aociated with increaed emotional ditre and decreaed quality of life