Optic neuritis in Asian children.

PURPOSE: To study the clinical spectrum of pediatric optic neuritis in Korean children.

METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on 23 patients with onset of the disease before the age of 16 years from 1995 to 2000. The degree of initial visual loss, subsequent visual recovery, magnetic resonance images, and associated diseases was reviewed.

RESULTS: There was no female predilection in the study group (43%) with a mean age of 8.9 years at presentation. Involvement was bilateral in 87% of patients. A preceding febrile illness within 2 weeks of visual symptoms was reported in 39% of patients. Of the 43 involved eyes of 23 patients, disc swelling was present in 51%, and central/cecocentral scotoma in 58% of the involved eyes. With a mean follow-up of 14 months, 79% of the patients had final vision of > or =20/40. Twenty-four (96%) of 25 eyes with intravenous steroid treatment and 10 (56%) of 18 eyes without intravenous steroids showed final visual acuity > or =20/40. Only 1 patient (4%) with multifocal signal abnormalities around the periventricular white matter developed multiple sclerosis.

CONCLUSION: Korean children with optic neuritis showed bilateral involvement with papillitis. The visual prognosis was relatively good and especially better in the patients receiving intravenous steroid treatment than in those without any treatment; however, this study is not controlled. Although a longer follow-up period is required, the development of multiple sclerosis is rare in Korean children with optic neuritis.