BACKGROUND:

Approximately 30-50% of idiopathic optic neuritis (ION) patients experience one or multiple episodes of recurrence. The aim of this study was to search for risk factors for ION recurrence.

METHODS:

Clinical data on hospitalized patients diagnosed with ION between January 2003 and January 2011 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University were retrospectively collected. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed on factors that might cause ION recurrence. In total, 115 ION cases (32 recurrent and 83 non-recurrent cases) with complete data were analyzed. The length of the follow-up period ranged from 12 to 108 months (median: 42 months).

RESULTS:

The univariate analysis showed that the recurrence rate for unilateral ION was higher than that for bilateral ION (40% vs. 12%, p = 0.001). Underlying diseases had a significant impact on recurrence (p<0.001): the recurrence rates due to neuromyelitis optica (NMO), multiple sclerosis (MS), demyelinating lesions alone of the central nervous system, and unknown causes were 89%, 70%, 41%, and 8.7%, respectively. The multivariate analysis showed that the factors causing relatively high recurrence rates included NMO (odds ratio [OR], 73.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 7.3 to 740.9), MS (OR, 33.9; 95% CI, 5.2 to 222.2), and demyelinating lesions alone (OR, 8.9; 95% CI, 2.3 to 34.4), unilateral involvement (OR, 5.7; 95% CI, 1.5 to 21.3), relatively low initial glucocorticoid dosage (equivalent to ≤100 mg prednisone/day) (OR, 4.3; 95% CI, 1.0 to 17.9).

CONCLUSION:

Underlying diseases, laterality (unilateral or bilateral), and initial glucocorticoid dosage are important risk factors of ION recurrence. Clinical physicians are advised to treat ION patients with a sufficient dose of glucocorticoid in the initial treatment stage to reduce the recurrence risk.