[Optic neuritis in children and adolescents]

The aim of the study was to analyse the cause, course and results of treatment in cases of optic nerve inflammation, including frequency of recurrencies. One hundred and ten children aged 2-18 years treated in our clinic from 1989 to 1994 were examined. Mean age was 13 years. Bilateral inflammation was found in 60% of cases, 176 eyes were assessed. The disease was more frequent in autumn, winter. In children below 14 (62%) inflammation concerned the intraocular part of the nerve while in older children it was mainly retrobulbar. Recurrence of the disease was observed in 1/3 of cases. In younger patients, the cause of the inflammation was usually viral infectious disease or chronic focal infection. In older children, the main causes were trauma or underlying neurological diseases. The treatment administered resulted in a normalisation of the visual field in more than half of the cases and visual acuity improvement in 73.5% of cases after retrobulbar inflammation, and in 75% of cases after intra-bulbar inflammation. During an average follow-up of 3 years, full visual acuity was achieved in 56% of eyes after retrobulbar inflammation and 46% of eyes after intra-bulbar inflammation. Signs of post-inflammatory neuropathy were present in 46% of eyes. Full recovery of visual function was achieved especially in those cases where it was not deeply decreased during the disease.