Misdiagnosis of missed diagnosis

Abstract

Papilledema is swelling of the optic nerve head, a sign of increased intracranial pressure. It can have underlying life-threatening etiologies such as intracranial space-occupying lesions or meningitis. However, pseudopapilledema is elevation of the optic disc secondary to local underlying structural conditions. Distinguishing between papilledema and pseudopapilledema is needed to avoid subjecting the patient to unnecessary tests and anxiety associated with it. We report a case of an 18-year-old male who presented to us with the clinical suspicion of disc edema. Simple noninvasive investigations such as red-free fundus photography and ultrasound B-scan aided us to diagnose it as a case of pseudopapilledema-optic nerve head drusen. Thus, a high index of suspicion along with the ancillary tests is helpful in differentiating pseudopapilledema from true papilledema.

Keywords

• optic nerve head drusen
• papilledema
• pseudopapilledema