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Updated: Oct 24, 2025
A Multi-Modal Approach to Assessing Recovery in Youth Athletes Following Concussion
Published on: September 25, 2014
Association between post-concussion symptoms and oculomotor deficits among adolescents
Sowjanya Gowrisankaran1, Ankoor S Shah1,2,3, Tawna L Roberts4
1Department of Ophthalmology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Purpose:
To examine the association between Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS) scores, Convergence Insufficiency Symptom Survey (CISS) scores, and oculomotor deficits post-concussion.
Methods:
Records of adolescent patients examined in a multidisciplinary concussion clinic between July 2014 and May 2019 were reviewed. PCSS and CISS scores, results of eye examination and oculomotor assessment, concussion history, and demographics were abstracted.
Results:
One hundred and forty patient records (median age, 15.3 years; 52 males, presented 109 days (median) from their most recent concussion) met inclusion criteria. Mean total scores on PCSS and CISS were 46.67 ± 25.89 and 27.13 ± 13.22, respectively, and were moderately correlated with each other (r = 0.53, p < .001). Oculomotor deficits were observed in 123 (88%) patients. Step-wise linear regression identified increased PCSS total score to be significantly associated with decreased amplitude of accommodation (p < .001). Increased CISS total score was significantly associated with receded near point of convergence, developmental eye movement test error scores, and cause of concussion.
Conclusion:
High PCSS scores may indicate an accommodation deficit and thus prompt an oculomotor assessment in patients following a concussion. Using the CISS and a detailed oculomotor assessment may reveal underlying oculomotor deficits, which may benefit from treatment.
