Hysterical Amblyopia

Abstract

Because of the clinical impression that hysterical amblyopia, when specifically looked for, is commoner than is generally believed; and because the incidence, as determined by a review of the literature, cannot properly be evaluated in terms of the subtler cases, it seemed that a clinical reexamination of this problem could be profitable. It is the purpose of this study to determine by survey, using perimetric methods, the actual incidence of hysterical amblyopia in a large group of unselected eye patients. There have been many individual reports * of cases of hysterical amblyopia and amaurosis, but series of any size, with statistical studies, are conspicuously lacking in the literature. MATERIALS AND METHODS Eight hundred unselected eye patients, with various complaints and diagnoses, were examined. The routine examination for the purpose of this study was as follows: Visual acuity was taken without and with glasses. If glasses improved the vision by as much