Getting to the heart of visual loss: when cardiac medication may be dangerous to the optic nerves.
A 62-year-old lady with hypertension and diabetes developed bilateral, sequential ischemic optic neuropathy, progressive in the right eye. Because of a reported association between amiodarone and optic neuropathy with disc edema, the patient discontinued taking this medication; however, her visual loss continued. The differential diagnoses of bilateral ischemic optic neuropathy--including infiltrative optic neuropathy and temporal arteritis--were exhaustively investigated in this patient.
Sedwick
L A
LA
Division of Neuro-Ophthalmology, Florida Hospital, Orlando.
D000638:Amiodarone / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000188:drug therapy; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005654:Fundus Oculi; D013700:Giant Cell Arteritis / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D007511:Ischemia / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis; D008875:Middle Aged; D009900:Optic Nerve / Q000098:blood supply; D009901:Optic Nerve Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis; D010211:Papilledema / Q000139:chemically induced; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis; D014792:Visual Acuity
D000638:Amiodarone