Purpose
to investigate the value of baseline retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT) measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT) in predicting conversion to clinically definite multiple sclerosis (CDMS) in patients presenting with acute retrobulbar optic neuritis as clinically isolated syndrome (RON-CIS).
Methods
eighteen patients with acute unilateral RON-CIS (9 men, 9 women; mean age 34.3 ±1.6 years) were retrospectively evaluated. Baseline RNFL thickness (RNFLT), as average and in 4 quadrants and 12 sectors, was recorded by Stratus OCT. Baseline Total Lesion Volume (T2-LV) was measured in brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. OCT metrics and Total Lesion Volume (T2-LV) values were compared between patients who converted to CDMS (group A) and those who did not (group B) within one-year from RON-CIS. The correlation between baseline RNFLT and T2-LV values was also assessed.
Results
twelve patients (66.7%) converted to CDMS within one year from RON-CIS. RNFL thinning was seen in group A compared to group B in affected and unaffected eyes (tables 1 and 2). A negative correlation between average RNFLT and T2-LV values was found in group A, both in affected (r=0.68, p= 0.002) and unaffected eyes (r=0.58, p=0.012). No significant correlations were observed in group B within one year.
Conclusions
in acute RON-CIS, baseline OCT metrics were associated with conversion to CDMS and with baseline MRI findings. A potential role for RFNLT as a prognostic indicator for conversion from RON-CIS to CDMS was suggested.
Keywords: 610 nerve fiber layer •
612 neuro-ophthalmology: diagnosis