Retrospective study of the etiology of optic neuritis

Purpose. A retrospective analysis of the etiology of optic neuritis. Material and methods. This study included 50 people (62 eyes) who were treated in the Khabarovsk branch of the S. Fyodorov Eye Microsurgery Federal State Institution and the ophthalmology department of the 10th city hospital of Khabarovsk in 2014. The age of the patients ranged from 20 to 45 years, on average 26±5.7 years. Among them there were 29 men, 21 women. The observation period of patients was 10 years. All patients upon admission to the hospital underwent a standard ophthalmological examination and general clinical and instrumental examinations (clinical blood test, urine, blood for sugar, syphilis, rheumatic tests, electrocardiogram, chest X-ray and paranasal sinuses, magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and cervical spine), consultations of related specialists were prescribed: therapist, neurologist, otolaryngologist, rheumatologist. Results. Study showed that the frequency of identified causes of optic neuritis using only standard examination methods was low, up to 46%. In more than half of the cases (54%), it was not possible to identify the etiology of optic neuritis using standard examination methods. Additional use of laboratory serological and instrumental examination methods, as well as long-term observation periods (10 years), made it possible to identify the etiology in 92.6% of cases.