Abstract
Purpose:
To report and analyze the clinical features of retinal diseases in patients who were misdiagnosed as having retrobulbar optic neuritis.
Methods:
Retrospective review of 26 patients (38 eyes) who were initially diagnosed to have retrobulbar optic neuritis but were ultimately diagnosed to have retinal or macular diseases. The clinical features including fundus examination, fluorescence fundus angiography (FFA), automated static perimetry, full-field electroretinogram (ffERG), multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) were evaluated.
Results:
A total of 38 eyes of 26 patients were found to have misdiagnosis of retrobulbar optic neuritis based on the normal or slight abnormal fundus findings and abnormal visual evoked potentials (VEP). The mean age of the patients was 34.0 years and the correct diagnosis of the patients included acute zonal occult outer retinopathy (AZOOR, 15 eyes, 14 patients), occult macular dystrophy (OMD, 8 eyes, 4 patients), cone or cone-rod dystrophy (10 eyes, 5 patients), acute macular neuroretinopathy (AMNR, 3 eyes, 2 patinets), and cancer-associated retinopathy CAR (2 eyes, 1 patient).
Conclusions:
When we attempt to diagnose retrobulbar optic neuritis in clinical practice, it is crucial to carry out necessary examinations of retinal function and morphology to decrease misdiagnosis.
Keywords: 612 neuro-ophthalmology: diagnosis