[Congestive optic disks in the brain massive lesions]

To study the specific features of development of papilledema (PE) in brain space-occupying lesions, the authors made a statistical analysis of neuroophthalmologic symptoms in 962 patients with brain tumors, colloid cysts of the third ventricle and cholesteatomas, who had been examined at the Research Institute of Neurosurgery during a calendar year. PE was identified in 30.8% of the patients. The frequency of PE was ascertained to depend on histological pattern, space-occupying lesion site, and age. Visual disturbances in PE were observed in more than a third of patients and manifested themselves as both diminished visual acuity and defects in the field of vision. The frequency and degree of visual deficit depended on the stage of PE.