Transorbital sonography in acute optic neuritis: a case-control study

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Neurology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Acute unilateral optic neuritis is linked to optic nerve thickening.
• Previous studies used transorbital sonography but did not compare nerve sheath and optic nerve diameters between patients and controls.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate and compare optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) and optic nerve diameter (OND) in acute optic neuritis patients versus healthy controls.
• To correlate ONSD and OND with visual-evoked potentials (VEPs) in optic neuritis patients.

Main Methods:

• A case-control study involving 21 acute optic neuritis patients and 21 matched healthy controls.
• B-mode transorbital sonography performed by experienced sonographers blinded to patient status.
• Visual-evoked potentials recorded and evaluated by a blinded neurophysiologist.

Main Results:

• The affected side's ON tämä was significantly thicker (6.3 mm) than the non-affected side (5.5 mm) and controls (5.2 mm).
• OND was thicker in patients (3.0 mm) than controls (2.7 mm), but this difference was not statistically significant between affected and non-affected sides.
• No significant correlation was found between ON tämä or OND and VEPs in optic neuritis patients.

Conclusions:

• Transorbital sonography is a valuable tool for supporting acute optic neuritis diagnosis.
• Further research is required to establish the definitive role of transorbital sonography in optic neuritis diagnosis and management.