Visual symptoms after optic neuritis. Results from the Optic Neuritis Treatment Trial.

As part of the Optic Neuritis Treatment Trial, vision-specific quality-of-life data were collected on the patients at their 6-month visits. The purpose of this study was to determine the types of visual tasks in day-to-day living in which patients have difficulty and to compare the patients' subjective assessment of visual impairment with measurements of visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, mean deviation, and color vision. The questionnaire was completed by 382 (87%) of the 438 patients who had 6-month study visits. Associations between ophthalmic test scores and self-reported vision were examined using both a summary problem index and selected individual items. Although a substantial percentage of the patients (63%) indicated that vision had not recovered to normal in the affected eye, the reported visual deficits generally were mild. For most of the visual tasks of daily living, patients reported little or no problem. Among the 215 patients who perceived their vision at 6 months to be somewhat or much worse than it was before optic neuritis, 20% had normal results on none of the four visual function tests, 14% had normal results on one of the four tests, 23% had two of four, 23% had three of four, and 20% had normal results on all four. Reported visual symptoms 6 months after optic neuritis generally were mild. When patients were symptomatic, the four visual function tests often did not detect abnormality. This finding supports previous reports that visual deficits are frequently perceived even when vision testing is normal.

The course of visual recovery after optic neuritis. Experience of the Optic Neuritis Treatment Trial.

PURPOSE: To define the time course of visual recovery after optic neuritis and factors predictive of this course in the patients enrolled in the Optic Neuritis Treatment Trial. METHODS: The cohort for this study consisted of the 438 patients who completed the 6-month follow-up visit. Visual acuity was measured at baseline and at seven follow-up visits during the first 6 months. Factors predictive of recovery were evaluated with univariate and multivariate statistical tests. RESULTS: Visual recovery was rapid in all three treatment groups. In almost all patients, regardless of treatment group and initial severity of visual loss, improvement began within the first month. Among the 278 patients with baseline visual acuity of 20/50 or worse, all patients improved at least one line of visual acuity, and all except six improved at least three lines, during the 6-month follow-up period. Baseline visual acuity was the best predictor of the 6-month visual acuity outcome (P = 0.0001). Older age was statistically associated with a slightly worse outcome (P = 0.02), but this appeared to be of no clinical importance. CONCLUSIONS: In most patients with optic neuritis, visual recovery is rapid. The only factor of value in predicting the visual outcome is initial severity of visual loss. However, even when initial loss is severe, visual recovery is still good in most patients. Patients not following the usual course of visual recovery should be considered atypical. For such patients, further investigation in regard to etiology of the visual loss may be appropriate.