Acute bilateral ophthalmoplegia: 60 cases

Of 60 patients with acute bilateral ophthalmoparesis, the cause was within the brainstem in 18 (pretectal infarct, phenytoin toxicity, and Wernicke's syndrome), in cranial nerves in 26 (Guillain-Barré or Fisher syndrome, tuberculous meningitis), within the cavernous sinuses in 8 (tumors or infection), and at the myoneural junction in 8 (myasthenia or botulism).