Optic neuritis in Singapore

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Optic neuritis (ON) is the commonest optic neuropathy encountered in the younger group of patients from the Singapore Neuro-Ophthalmology Study Group. Previous surveys in Asia and our study suggest that ON in Singapore differs from that in Western populations where the majority of cases are associated with multiple sclerosis (MS). METHODS: Patients satisfying our entry criteria for ON seen between September 2002 and June 2004 were enrolled in the study. The data collected was recorded in a central database and analysed two years later. RESULTS: The majority (60 percent) of our patients had anterior ON with optic disc swelling (papillitis), were idiopathic in 49.1 percent, and a..