Clinical Characteristics of Acquired Diplopia in Adults

To describe the common causes of symptomatic strabismus and treatment required to resolve diplopia in adult patients seen by one orthoptist.

Retrospective cross-sectional study of consecutive adult patients 18 years or older seen by one orthoptist over a 3-year period with a chief complaint of double vision.

Two hundred twenty-four consecutive adult patients were examined by the author. Chief complaint was double vision, followed by blurred vision, monocular diplopia, and eye strain. Past ocular histories were significant for early-childhood strabismus in 23 patients. Amblyopia was identified in five patients. Hypertension was a medical risk factor most associated with symptomatic strabismus. Cranial nerve paresis was the most common cause of the strabismus followed by benign, age-related divergence insufficiency esotropia. Prism was the most common treatment in 53% of patients followed by Bangerter foil occlusion in 44 patients (20%). Strabismus surgery was recommended in 11 patients (5%). Manifest refraction was successful in resolving symptoms of binocular diplopia in nine heterophoric patients (5%). Opaque pirate style occlusion was not used for any patient in this series.

Symptomatic acquired esotropia was a common type of strabismus encountered by the author and trochlear nerve paresis a common cause of symptomatic strabismus in this retrospective cross-sectional study. Press-On™ or ground-in spectacle prism of 12 prism diopters or less resolved diplopia in 124 patients (55%).