Unilateral optic neuritis in a Chinese population in three centers

To describe the clinical profile of unilateral optic neuritis (ON) in a Chinese population, we reviewed retrospectively the records of 100 patients (66% female; age 18-74 years) diagnosed with unilateral ON between 2003 and 2009 at three hospitals in Guangxi Province, China. Ocular pain was noted in 40% and disc swelling in 48%. Periventricular plaques were found in 8% and multiple sclerosis in 6%. Visual loss varied at presentation, being mild (≥ 0.5) in 15%, moderate (0.1-0.4) in 26%, and severe (< 0.1) in 59%. Visual acuity improved after a mean (± standard deviation) hospitalization of 12.5 ± 5.3 days, with visual loss eing mild in 52%, moderate in 14% and severe in 34%. Our findings suggest that the characteristics and severity of initial visual loss of patients in our study are more similar to those of patients in Japan than to those of patients in the United States of America. It seems that visual recovery in our patients is relatively good.