Isolated abducens nerve palsy: Comparison of microvascular and other causes

OBJECTIVE: Abducens nerve paralysis is the most common ocular motor neuropathy. In this article, we aimed to compare the causes of isolated abducens nerve palsy in terms of demographic, clinical features, and prognosis. METHODS: Thirty-six isolated abducens nerve palsy patients were prospectively enrolled in the study. The demographic, clinical features, and prognosis compared in two etiological groups as microvascular and other causes. RESULTS: The most common etiology was microvascular, which was seen in 16/36 (44.4%) patients. Mean clinical recovery time was 2.5±1.3 months (range, 10 days–6 months). When etiological groups were compared as microvascular and other causes, the mean age of the microvascular group was significantly higher (62.8±13.3 vs. 44.5±16.4, p=0.001). Diabetes mellitus was seen significantly higher in the microvascular group than other causes group (p=0.001), but no significant difference was observed in terms of other atherosclerotic risk factors (p>0.05). The fasting blood glucose and hemoglobin A1c value were significantly higher in the microvascular group (p=0.02 and p=0.02, respectively). There was no significant difference in terms of clinical improvement and clinical recovery times between groups (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: There is no difference between microvascular group and other causes in terms of clinical outcome, while the mean age and presence of diabetes were higher in the microvascular group. The presence of diabetes should be questioned in cases with isolated abducens nerve palsy.