Pediatric optic neuritis

Pediatric acute bilateral optic neuritis: A case report

With the improvement of diagnostic technology, the diagnosis of optic neuritis (ON) has become increasingly accurate. Due to the special characteristics of the pediatric population, there is currently a lack of large-scale studies and related guidelines on pediatric ON. This case report describes the complete diagnosis and treatment process of a 7-year-old male patient with bilateral acute ON, from onset to symptom relief. During the outpatient stage, the patient was suspected of having different types of ON by different departments, but the diagnosis was confirmed through antibody testing after hospitalization. The treatment plan for this case was based on the current plan for adults and the prognosis was better than that of adults with similar characteristics. This suggests that pediatric ON has its own features and requires more case reports and clinical research for further exploration and summary.

Pediatric Optic Neuritis: Description of Four Cases and Review of the Literature

Pediatric optic neuritis (PON) may be a clinically isolated and self-limiting event or may present in the context of underlying neurologic, infective, or systemic disease. PON has a high impact on the quality of life as it may or may not evolve into other acquired demyelinating syndromes (ADSs), such as multiple sclerosis (MS), neuromyelitis optica (NMO), or other syndromes related to the myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein IgG antibodies (MOG-IgG). These different PON phenotypes present variable clinical and radiological features, plasma and liquor biomarkers, and prognosis. We describe four pediatric cases presenting clinically with ON, with different etiopathogenetic pictures: one case had a probable infective etiology, while the others were associated with different demyelinating disorders (MS, NMO, syndrome related to MOG-IgG). We discuss the possible evolution of presenting ON in other ADSs, based on recent literature. A careful evaluation of the clinical and investigation findings and the natural course of PON is necessary to define its pathogenic pathway and evolution. Further prolonged follow-up studies are needed to highlight the predictors of PON evolution, its potential sequelae, and the best treatment options.