Abstract: Objective  To study the characteristics of pediatric optic neuritis for the better treatment and nursing for them. Design Retrospective case series. Participants 75 cases (124 eyes) with pediatric optic neuritis (<16 years) from Jan. 2010 to Dec. 2012 in General Hospital of PLA. Methods Retrospective analysis of clinical data of 75 cases (124 eyes) with pediatric optic neuritis was conducted, collecting and analyzing their predisposing factors, clinical features. The follow-up was for 6~42 months to get further analysis for their prognosis and outcomes. Main Outcome Measures Predisposing factors, clinical features, and prognosis. Results The mean age of scheduled patients was 10.67±3.57 years, with 56 females (74.67%) . 29 patients (38.67%) had causes before onset, and all patients had different levels of vision loss. 49 patients (65.33%) exhibited bilateral diseases. In total, 32 patients (42.67%) had eye pain or eye pain with movement. All children followed up exhibited optic disc pallor. 51.52% of patients had recurrent optic neuritis, but visual acuity had recovered to 0.5 in 70% of patients. The final diagnosis of these patients were 4 multiple sclerosis (6.78%) and 9 neuromyelitis optica (15.25%). Conclusion The clinical characteristics of pediatric optic neuritis were severe bilateral vision loss and complete recovery. Compared with developing multiple sclerosis, female and older patients were in the risk of developing neuromyelitis optica.

Key words: pediatric optic neuritis, clinical features, prognosis