Optic neuropathy associated with acute pancreatitis: A case report

The present article describes a case of a 24-year-old patient who suffered from acute pancreatitis. The patient simultaneously developed visual acuity loss and changes in the visual field. When examined, the finding was physiological, including the fundoscopy. Neither fluorescein angiography or optical coherence tomography demonstrated any retinal abnormalities; electroretinography was physiological as well. The visual evoked potentials (VEP) showed abnormalities in amplitudes. Patient's visual field was reduced to 40˚. The follow-up examination 13 months after the first symptoms proved a progression of changes in the visual field and prolonged latency of P100 peak in VEP. The retinal nerve fibre layer stayed unchanged, but the vessel density on the optic nerve head decreased. Magnetic resonance brain imaging showed non-specific subcortical and paraventricular focuses in the white matter of both hemispheres. There were no other abnormalities detected by magnetic resonance imaging. Neurological examination was normal. In conclusion, the present study verified this decrease of visual functions as a lesion in the visual pathway using VEP, which was also confirmed by magnetic resonance brain imaging.