Pseudotumor cerebri: clinical profile and visual outcome in 63 patients

Few current reports in the ophthalmic literature address the visual prognosis patients with pseudotumor cerebri. The visual status of 63 patients with pseudotumor cerebri, seen at the Mayo Clinic from 1961 through 1978, was retrospectively analyzed. The median interval between first examination and response to a questionnaire was 6 1/4 years. Seven patients (11%) had 6/9 (20/30) or worse visual acuity at least ocular examination. Visual loss was not statistically related to (1) the presence of visual obscurations, (2) the duration of symptoms, (3) the degree of papilledema, or (4) the number of recurrences. Surgical intervention may have prevented further deterioration of vision in several patients, but therapeutic efficacy could not be determined in this study. No patient with visual loss had substantial improvement, regardless of type of treatment.