Editorial October 01, 2015 October 01, 2015

The importance of optical coherence tomography in papilledema

DOI: 10.5935/0034-7280.20150055

Papilledema is the edema of the optical disc secondary to the increased intracranial pressure, and represents one of the most frequent causes of edema of the optic disc. Classically, the edema is bilateral, with the preservation of visual acuity in the early stages associated with other signs and symptoms, such as headache, tinnitus, transient obscuration of the vision and diplopia. When dealing with a patient with papilledema it is key to avoid the presence of intracranial expansive lesions or ventriculomegaly by means of neuroimaging. If neuroimaging examination reveals nothing or shows signs of obstruction of the cerebral venous flow system, we should consider the diagnosis of idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), also known more broadly as pseudotumor cerebri syndrome (1) […].