This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Neuro-ophthalmology  • Ophthalmology  • Ophthalmological Disorders, Other  • Alert me on articles by topic

Thirteen Patients From a Neurology Inpatient Service

James R. Keane, MD

Arch Neurol. 2006;63:388-389.

Background  Seeing triple is a rare complaint, so anatomically unlikely that it is often considered a diagnostic symptom of hysteria.

Objective  To evaluate the complaint of triple vision among a large group of neurological inpatients.

Design  Personal case series during a 34-year period.

Setting  Neurology and neurosurgery wards of the University of Southern California–Los Angeles County Medical Center.

Patients  Thirteen patients who reported seeing objects in triplicate.

Results  Eleven of 13 patients had ocular motor findings, including third nerve palsy in 5 patients, internuclear ophthalmoplegia in 4, and sixth nerve palsy in 2. Causes included brainstem infarction in 4 patients; ischemic mononeuropathy, trauma, surgery, and hysteria in 2 patients each; and tumor in 1 patient.

Conclusion  Triplopia is a rare complaint that, in a neurology inpatient service, often represents an unusual interpretation of abnormal eye movements.

Author Affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Southern California Medical School, Los Angeles.