Visual outcomes of idiopathic intracranial hypertension in a neuro-ophthalmology clinic in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

PURPOSE: Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is a disorder with elevated intracranial pressure more than 250 mm H2O, without evidence of meningeal inflammation, space-occupying lesion, or venous thrombosis. In this study, we aim to study the clinical profile, evaluation, management, and visual outcome in a hospital-based population of IIH cases in Jeddah. METHODS: This is a retrospective observational cohort study that included the medical records of all patients referred to neuro-ophthalmology service for evaluation of papilledema. The medical records have been reviewed from October 2018 to February 2020 at Jeddah Eye Hospital, Saudi Arabia. A total of 51 patients presented with papilledema in the studied period. Forty-seven patients met our inclusion criteria and were included in the study. RESULTS: The study found that the incidence rate of IIH is 16:100 of the referred cases to the neuro-ophthalmology clinic. Most of the patients were females (41, 91.2%), with a mean age of presentation of 32 ± 11 years. The most common presenting symptom was headache (40 patients, 88.8%), followed by transient visual obscuration (TVO) (20 patients, 44.4%), and reduced visual acuity (15 patients, 33.3%). All 45 patients were started on medical treatment with oral acetazolamide with four patients (8.8%) shifted to topiramate because of the lack of response or intolerance to acetazolamide while four patients (8.8%) underwent lumbar-peritoneal shunt because of inadequate control of the disease despite the treatment with medical therapy. For both eyes, the change in visual acuity across all assessment points was statistically significant. Nevertheless, there were no significant changes in the visual field findings among all of the compared assessment points. CONCLUSION: The present study has shown that IIH-related papilledema is common in young female patients with headaches, TVOs, and reduced visual acuity. Those are the most common symptoms in our IIH population. Medical treatment and monitoring of IIH is efficient and should be considered to enhance the prognosis of IIH-related complications. In addition, the visual acuity and the visual field should be frequently monitored for these patients.