Background: The diagnosis of idiopathic intracranial hypertension results from a synopsis of standardised examinations including MRI. Since the cerebrospinal fluid pressure influences the pressure of the central retinal vein, it was the purpose of the present study to evaluate whether the ophthalmodynamometric estimation of the central retinal vein collapse pressure is helpful for the diagnosis of idiopathic intracranial hypertension.
Patients and methods: The study included 5 patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension with a mean age of 38.3+/-10.8 years and 88 subjects of a control group with a mean age of 66.8+/-13.1 years. Using a modified corneal contact lens-associated ophthalmodynamometry, the collapse pressure of the central retinal vein was estimated.
Results: The central retinal vein collapse pressure was significantly higher in the study group (33.0+/-27.3 relative units) than in the control group (2.0+/-6.7 relative units) (p<0.006; 95 % confidence interval: -11.5, 50.5). The central retinal artery collapse pressure did not vary significantly between the two groups (52.7+/-15.3 relative units versus 65.6+/-20.4 relative units; p=0.19; 95 % confidence interval: -36.6, 10.5).
Conclusions: The corneal contact lens-associated ophthalmodynamometry can be helpful for the monitoring of patients with intracranial idiopathic hypertension.