Ten-Year Review Of Neuroimaging In Acute Paediatric Strabismus

Background Acute childhood strabismus is often a clinical conundrum faced by ophthalmologists. Currently, there are no clear clinical guidelines on how to investigate a child presenting with acute strabismus. Furthermore, there is no consensus as to whether to initially perform neuroimaging of a child to rule out the small but serious risk of intracranial pathology, or to pursue a careful observational approach. This paper aims to outline a standardised approach to investigating acute strabismus in paediatric patients. Methods A retrospective chart review of all paediatric patients that presented over a 10-year period to the ophthalmology departments at two tertiary level hospitals in New Zealand was conducted. Patients under 18 years of age with an acute presentation of strabismus, who underwent neuroimaging, were included. Results A total of 500 patient records were reviewed. Seventy patients met the study inclusion criteria. Of these patients, 17 (24.3%) had non-isolated strabismus while 53 patients (75.7%) had isolated strabismus. Twelve patients (70.6%) who presented with a non-isolated strabismus had abnormal neuroimaging. Of those who presented with an isolated strabismus, 4 (7.5%) had abnormal neuroimaging. Conclusions Acute onset non-isolated strabismus is a significant predictor of underlying neurological abnormality in children and requires urgent neuroimaging. However, a cautious approach in which there is close observation, along with general paediatric and/or paediatric neurology input, may be appropriate for children presenting acutely with an isolated strabismus.