Open AccessIDENTIFYING POST-PARTUM OPTIC NEURITIS IN RURAL AREAS: A CASE REPORT
Author(s) -
Harris Kristanto Soedjono,
Candida Isabel Lopes Sam
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
callosum neurology journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2614-0284
pISSN - 2614-0276
DOI - 10.29342/cnj.v3i3.125
Subject(s) - medicine , optic neuritis , post partum , pregnancy , visual acuity , neuritis , pediatrics , multiple sclerosis , optic nerve , postpartum period , surgery , ophthalmology , immunology , biology , genetics
Background: Optic neuritis is an inflammatory demyelinating process that causes acute impairment of vision that may appear in one or both eyes, either simultaneously or successively.Case: A 22-year-old woman admitted to Neurology Clinic with chief complaint of sudden vision loss in both eyes simultaneously in the last two days. Additional complaints like headache and dizziness also occur. The patient was in her 7th day of post-partum period when this happened. There was no problem during pregnancy nor delivery. The initial visual acuity was 1/300 in both eyes. The patient then admitted and treated with high-dose corticosteroid. After treatment, the patient went home with visual acuity of more than 6/60.Discussion: This patient may have B6, B12, and folic acid deficiency that can cause demyelinating process of optic nerve. It is also possible as an early manifestation of Multiple Sklerosis, an autoimmune process that arises during post-partum period.Conclusion: Pregnancy has a protective effect to autoimmune disease, whereas post-partum period is immunologically more vulnerable to autoimmune disease.Keywords: optic neuritis, post-partum, sudden vision loss