Nonglaucomatous optic atrophy in Benin City.

ABSTRACT

CONTEXT Optic atrophy is a clinical sign and not a disease. The etiology of optic atrophy is diverse, some of which may be life threatening. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective review of the medical records of all adult patients aged 16 years and above with nonglaucomatous optic atrophy at the eye clinic of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital over a 4-year period was conducted. RESULTS: One hundred and four patients had nonglaucomatous optic atrophy. There were 58 males and 46 females with a malefemale of 1.31. Their ages ranged from 16 to 83 years with a mean age of 49.2 ± 17.74 years. Majority (75%) of the patients were in the age range of 31-70 years. One hundred and fifty-seven eyes were affected with bilateral involvement in 53 patients. The etiology was unknown in 47 (45.2%) patients. Choriodoretinal disease 24 (23.1%), trauma 14 (13.5%), toxic-nutritional 8 (7.7%) and compressive lesions 5 (4.8%) were the most common among the known etiologies. CONCLUSION: Optic atrophy is the end result of injury to the anterior visual pathway from a myriad of disease processes. A broad knowledge of the etiology of optic atrophy is needed to make a diagnosis .