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Baseline Features of Optic Neuritis in South Korea: A Retrospective Multicenter Study
Yeonji Jang1, Yungju Yoo, Haeng-Jin Lee
1Department of Ophthalmology (YJ), Uijeongbu Eulji Medical Center, Eulji University College of Medicine, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea; S-eye Clinic (YY), Ansan, Republic of Korea; Department of Ophthalmology (H-JL), College of Medicine, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of Korea; Department of Ophthalmology (WJK), Yeungnam University College of Medicine, Daegu, Republic of Korea; Department of Ophthalmology (USK), Chung-Ang University Gwangmyeong Hospital, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea; and Department of Ophthalmology (USK), Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Background:
To investigate the clinical features and serologic test results of optic neuritis through a multi-institutional study in Korea.
Methods:
The is a retrospective cohort study from multicenters (21 centers) in Korea. A cohort consists of 181 Korean patients diagnosed with noninfectious optic neuritis from January 2022 to December 2023. The types of optic neuritis were classified and analyzed based on serologic and imaging tests. The positive rate of serologic tests was analyzed. In addition, demographics, visual function tests including visual acuity and visual field, and anatomical investigation using optical coherence tomography and fundus photography were compared and analyzed.
Results:
Of the cohort, 55.2% were female, and 18.2% had bilateral involvement. At the onset, 67.4% of patients presented with ocular pain, and 98.3% of patients had visual impairment. In addition, 27.1% of patients experienced neurologic symptoms such as headaches and dizziness. Among 171 tested patients, 8.2% were positive for anti-aquaporin 4 antibody, 32.2% were positive for anti-myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody, and 56.7% were negative. The average visual acuity was 1.08 logMAR, with 65.7% of patients showing optic disc swelling. MRI revealed that 90.1% of patients had optic nerve contrast enhancement. The neuromyelitis optica group had a higher average age and more female patients, while the myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein-associated disease group had a higher rate of bilateral optic neuritis.
Conclusions:
In Korea, idiopathic optic neuritis was the most common, followed by myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein-related optic neuritis. Accordingly, clinical manifestations showed different tendencies depending on the causative disease. Therefore, understanding racial characteristics and appropriate planning during the diagnosis and treatment of optic neuritis are necessary.
