The Clinical Overlap of Long-Standing Optic Neuropathy and Retinal Arterial Occlusion- The Value of Optic Coherence Tomography to Establish the Anatomical Diagnosis and to Guide Management (.pdf)

In the acute phase of blindness, the clinical distinction between an optic neuropathy and retinal arterial occlusion is straightforward. In the former, there is often edema of the optic nerve head, especially in non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). With occlusion of either the central or branch retinal arteries, there is usually edema of the respective area of the retina. After the acute phase, however, the clinical distinction between an old optic neuropathy and an old vascular retinopathy can be challenging given that optic nerve pallor can be present in either case. Establishing the correct anatomical diagnosis is critical because the management and systemic implications of these two conditions are quite disparate.