Importance of evaluation of edema of the optic nerve disk in sudden increase in intracranial pressure
The authors examined in 1987-1995 56 patients who had a sudden rise of intracranial pressure. Fifty patients developed oedema of the optic nerve disc, most frequently within 12-24 hours after development of the basic disease. They provided clear evidence of the importance of retinal haemorrhages for the prognosis of the disease. In patients with haemorrhage into the vitreous body (Pearson's syndrome) the mortality was up to 50%. Also the rapid onset of oedema of the optic nerve disc is not a favourable prognostic sign for survival. The authors found also that in the majority of patients, who survived the basic disease there was no marked decline of the central visual acuity.