Visual recovery from hypoxic cortical blindness during childhood. Computed tomographic and magnetic resonance imaging predictors.

We reviewed the clinical courses and computed tomographic (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of 30 infants and children with cortical blindness following hypoxic insults. The degree of injury to the striate and parastriate cortices and the area of the optic radiations were graded from 0 to 4 by a neuroradiologist. Only two children had normal scans of the posterior visual pathway and both had favorable visual outcomes. The visual recovery differed significantly with respect to the age at which the hypoxic insult occurred and CT and MRI abnormalities in the area of the optic radiations, but not with abnormalities in the striate or parastriate cortices. Our results suggest that CT and MRI scanning are helpful in prognosticating the visual potential of children with hypoxic cortical blindness.