Management of optic neuritis in Ireland: a survey comparing the management practices of acute demyelinating optic neuritis amongst ophthalmologists and neurologists in Ireland.
BACKGROUND
Acute optic neuritis (ON) is often the first manifestation of multiple sclerosis which is particularly common in Ireland. Despite the specific clinical details regarding investigations and management of ON provided by the Optic Neuritis Treatment Trial (ONTT), international surveys have shown that there are still notable differences in the management of ON between neurologists and ophthalmologists.


AIM
To compare the investigation and treatment of acute optic neuritis between ophthalmologists and neurologists in Ireland METHOD: A survey consisting of a case scenario and questions regarding treatment and investigations of a patient with ON was emailed to ophthalmology consultants, trainees and medical ophthalmologists registered with the Irish College of Ophthalmologists and to neurology consultants and registrars registered with the Irish Institute of Clinical Neuroscience.


RESULTS
One hundred sixty recipients responded out of 350 (46%). The majority of the neurologists would initiate steroid treatment regardless of the patient's vision (75%), treat with 1 g IV methylprednisolone (100%) for 5 days (57%), perform an MRI brain and orbits with contrast (92%) and multiple laboratory tests (96%). In contrast, the ophthalmologists tended to initiate treatment depending on the patient's vision (48%), treat with 1 g IV methylprednisolone (97%) for 3 days instead of 5 days (93%), perform MRI brain and orbits with contrast (73%) and favour electrophysiology testing (73%) over laboratory testing (68%).


CONCLUSIONS
Overall, most respondents would follow the ONTT guidelines regarding IV methylprednisolone. There was a significant difference in responses between the ophthalmologists and neurologists regarding who to treat, duration of treatment and appropriate investigations.
['Kobayter|Lina|L|http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4013-5682', 'Chetty|Shivona|S|']
D000208:Acute Disease D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques D003711:Demyelinating Diseases D005260:Female D005938:Glucocorticoids D019538:Health Care Surveys D006801:Humans D007494:Ireland D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging D008297:Male D008775:Methylprednisolone D009103:Multiple Sclerosis D000072141:Neurologists D000072163:Ophthalmologists D009902:Optic Neuritis D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'
Optic neuritis Ireland Demyelination Multiple sclerosis