Neuro-ophthalmologic side-effects of systemic medications

Systemic medications may cause side-effects manifesting primarily as neuro-ophthalmologic problems. It is paramount for the physician to be updated on both well recognized and novel associations between drugs and their potential adverse reactions.

There is a growing list of medications that can cause pupil dilation, pupil constriction, dyschromatopsia, worsening of ocular myasthenia gravis, posterior reversible leukoencephalopathy syndrome, pseudotumor cerebri, disturbances in eye movements, accommodation problems, or optic neuropathy. This is partly due to the increasing number of drugs available in each class, but also to the increased recognition of neuro-ophthalmological disorders.

This review discusses neuro-ophthalmological problems and the medications that may precipitate them.