Charles Bonnet Syndrome in Subsets of Low Vision Patients

Charles Bonnet Syndrome (CBS) is described as the occurrence of formed visual hallucinations in older persons with visual impairment in the context of normal cognition and insight. Associated ocular disease states include advanced cataracts,diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and macular degeneration; visual acuity is usually impaired to 20/60 or worse. Though the frequency of CBS in isolated patient populations with macular degeneration and glaucoma has been previously reported, no study has been performed to compare and contrast the nature of CBS across the spectrum of visual impairment from various etiologies.