Clinical profile and aetiology of optic neuritis in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia--5 years review.

Although few studies concerning optic neuritis (ON) in Asian countries have been reported, there is no report about ON in Malaysia particularly within the Malay population. We aimed to determine the clinical manifestation, visual outcome and aetiology of ON in Malays, and discussed the literature of ON studies in other Asian populations. This was a retrospective study involving 31 consecutive patients (41 eyes) with ON treated at Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia commencing from July 2005 till January 2010 with a period of follow-up ranging from 18-60 months. The clinical features, laboratory results, possible aetiology, and visual acuity after one year were analysed. Females were the predominant group. The age of the patients ranged between 3-55 years and peaked between 21-30 years old. 67.7% of the patients had unilateral involvement. Pain on ocular movement was observed in 31.7% of the affected eyes. 73.3% of 41 involved eyes showed visual acuity equal 6/60 or worse on presentation. Paracentral scotoma was the most common visual field defect noted. Optic disc papillitis proved more widespread compared to the retrobulbar type of ON. The aetiology was idiopathic in more than 50%, while the risk of multiple sclerosis was extremely low (3.2%) in our series. 66.0% demonstrating visual acuity improved to 6/12 or better at one year after the attack. 16.1% showed evidence of recurrence during follow-up. In conclusion, the clinical profile and aetiology of ON in Malay patients are comparable to other ON studies reported by other Asian countries.

Clinical Profile and Aetiology of Optic Neuritis in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia – 5 Years Review

Although few studies concerning optic neuritis (ON) in Asian countries have been reported, there is no report about ON in Malaysia particularly within the Malay population. We aimed to determine the clinical manifestation, visual outcome and aetiology of ON in Malays, and discussed the literature of ON studies in other Asian populations. This was a retrospective study involving 31 consecutive patients (41 eyes) with ON treated at Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia commencing from July 2005 till January 2010 with a period of follow-up ranging from 18-60 months. The clinical features, laboratory results, possible aetiology, and visual acuity after one year were analysed. Females were the predominant group. The age of the patients ranged between 3-55 years and peaked between 21-30 years old. 67.7% of the patients had unilateral involvement. Pain on ocular movement was observed in 31.7% of the affected eyes. 73.3% of 41 involved eyes showed visual acuity equal 6/60 or worse on presentation. Paracentral scotoma was the most common visual field defect noted. Optic disc papillitis proved more widespread compared to the retrobulbar type of ON. The aetiology was idiopathic in more than 50%, while the risk of multiple sclerosis was extremely low (3.2%) in our series. 66.0% demonstrating visual acuity improved to 6/12 or better at one year after the attack. 16.1% showed evidence of recurrence during follow-up. In conclusion, the clinical profile and aetiology of ON in Malay patients are comparable to other ON studies reported by other Asian countries.

Traumatic optic neuropathy: a review of 24 patients.

AIM: To evaluate the clinical presentations of traumatic optic neuropathy and to assess the visual outcome of three groups of patients managed differently (conservative, intravenous corticosteroids only and combination of intravenous and oral corticosteroids) at an academic tertiary care referral centre. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted involving 24 consecutive patients (27 eyes) with traumatic optic neuropathy attending Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia from January 2007 till December 2009. RESULTS: Twenty-four patients (27 eyes) were included. All cases involved were males. Mean age was 33 years old. Motor vehicle accident was the major cause (83.3%). Both eyes were equally involved. Most of the eyes had poor vision on presentation (HM-NPL, 81.5%) with associated periorbital haematoma (22 eyes) and subconjunctival haemorrhage (20 eyes). Majority of patients (19 patients, 79.2%) presented with more than one bony fracture of skull or orbit and 5 patients (20.8%) had no fractures. None of the patients had evidence of optic nerve compression on CT scans or MRI done. Eleven patients (45.8%) had been treated with intravenous and oral corticosteroids. The other 7 patients (29.2%) were treated conservatively and the third group (6 patients, 25.0%) was on intravenous corticosteroids only. Eleven of 12 eyes (91.7%) treated with intravenous and oral corticosteroids had shown 1 line improvement of visual acuity. Those eyes treated conservatively (77.8%) had shown 1 line improvement of visual acuity. As for patients treated with intravenous corticosteroids only, four patients remained NPL, one patient had mild visual improvement and the other one's vision remained the same. The visual improvement in patients treated with conservative management was not significant (P=0.386). Patients treated with intravenous corticosteroids alone have shown no visual improvement statistically(P<0.05). Patients treated with intravenous followed by oral corticosteroids had significant visual improvement (P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in visual outcome between patients treated with corticosteroids and patients treated conservatively (P=0.368). No patient underwent surgical decompression of the optic nerve. In this series, the follow up ranges from 6 months to 3 years. CONCLUSION: Most of the traumatic optic neuropathy patients presented with periorbital haematoma, subconjunctival haemorrhage and orbital wall fractures. Patients treated with intravenous followed by oral corticosteroids have better visual outcome compared to conservative management.