Etiology of Papilledema in Patients in the Eye Clinic Setting

Abstract

Papilledema is an important finding that can herald a serious neurologic condition. However, to our knowledge, there has not been a population-based study of its incidence and etiologies in an outpatient eye clinic setting. Specifically, if a patient presents to an eye care professional with optic disc edema, what is the likelihood that it is papilledema caused by a life-threatening condition? While many cases of bilateral papilledema are caused by idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), some will be caused by other etiologies, such as obstructive hydrocephalus, cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, and intracranial masses, among others. This study examined medical records from the Rochester Epidemiology Project to determine the relative frequency of etiologies of papilledema in patients visiting outpatient eye clinics.