Clinical features and visual outcomes of pediatric optic neuritis in the Indian population: A prospective study

PURPOSE: Optic neuritis, defined as inflammation of the optic nerve, is the most common optic neuropathy affecting adults. Various studies in Southeast Asia have shown that the clinical profile of optic neuritis might differ in these regions from that reported in the western literature. Through this study, we evaluate the clinical profile of pediatric optic neuritis (PON) in the Indian population. METHODS: This was a hospital-based prospective observational study. Patients with optic neuritis younger than 16 years who attended the neuro-ophthalmology clinic from May 2016 to April 2017 were included in the study. RESULTS: This study included 54 eyes of 38 patients. The mean age of presentation was 10.6 years. Unilateral disease (58%) was found to be more common, and a slight female preponderance (58%) was noted. The most common feature was visual loss (96.3%). Pupillary light reflex abnormality was seen in most patients. Fundus examination revealed disk edema (77.7%) to be the most common feature. Neuroimaging was performed in 34 patients, and multiple sclerosis was diagnosed in four patients. At 3 months follow-up after treatment, 89% of eyes had best correct visual acuity of 6/9 or better (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: In our study, we found the clinical profile of PON to be similar to that seen in western studies as well as those done previously in the Indian population, although with a few differences.