Differentiation of POEMS Syndrome from Other Causes of Disc Edema

Despite idiopathic intracranial hypertension being a relatively common diagnosis in ophthalmology, it is a diagnosis of exclusion and disc edema warrants further studies including brain imaging and a lumbar puncture. Underscoring this point is a case presented here of a patient initially misdiagnosed with IIH (based elevated CSF opening pressure in the absence of a causative lesion on neuroimaging) later found to actually be a case of POEMS syndrome.