title: Optic neuritis in pediatric population: a review in current tendencies of diagnosis and management.
abstract: Optic neuritis is an inflammation of the optic nerve and may be related to different systemic conditions. The clinical presentation of this pathology usually includes sudden loss of visual acuity (VA) which may be unilateral or bilateral, visual field restriction, pain with eye movements, dyschromatopsia, a relative afferent pupillary defect and optic disk swelling. Optic neuritis in children has specific clinical features and a better prognosis than in adulthood. Although usually appears an underlying viral disease, the main concern for practitioners is the relationship of optic neuritis with multiple sclerosis. In addition to the classical techniques as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), current tendencies of diagnosis for eye practitioners include new imaging devices as optical coherence tomography (OCT), useful to show a thinning of the retinal fibers layer (RFL) after the inflammatory episode. Regarding the management of these patients, short-term intravenous steroid dosages seem to be the best option to treat acute attacks characterized by a very poor bilateral VA.
authors.affiliation: Oftalmar, Ophthalmology Department, Hospital Internacional Medimar, Alicante, Spain. Electronic address: rcambrodi@oftalmar.es.
authors.forename: Rafael José
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Pérez-Cambrodí
authors.affiliation: Hospital Marina Baixa, Villajoyosa, Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: Aránzazu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gómez-Hurtado Cubillana
authors.affiliation: Oftalmar, Ophthalmology Department, Hospital Internacional Medimar, Alicante, Spain; Department of Optics, Anatomy and Pharmacology, University of Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: María L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Merino-Suárez
authors.affiliation: Oftalmar, Ophthalmology Department, Hospital Internacional Medimar, Alicante, Spain; Department of Optics, Anatomy and Pharmacology, University of Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: David P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Piñero-Llorens
authors.affiliation: Oftalmar, Ophthalmology Department, Hospital Internacional Medimar, Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Laria-Ochaita
mesh_terms: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009902:Optic Neuritis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D005938:Glucocorticoids
keywords: Childhood; Esclerosis múltiple; Infancia; Multiple sclerosis; Neuritis óptica; Optic neuritis; Optical coherence tomography; Tomografía de coherencia óptica