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Klin Monbl Augenheilkd 2012; 229(4): 431-432
DOI: 10.1055/s-0031-1299164
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© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Bilateral Optic Neuropathy after Short-Term Treatment with Intravenous Amiodarone

Bilaterale Optikusneuropathie nach kurzzeitiger intravenöser Amiodarongabe
P. P. Ciechanowski
1   Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland
,
M. Töteberg-Harms
1   Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland
,
J. Stürmer
2   Department of Ophthalmology, Kantonsspital Winterthur, Switzerland
,
M. Kunz
3   Cardiac Centre, Rhythmology Klinik Hirslanden, Zurich, Switzerland
,
K. Landau
1   Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland
,
V. Sturm
1   Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland
› Author Affiliations
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Publication History

Publication Date:
11 April 2012 (online)

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Background

Originally Amiodarone, a diiodated benzofuran derivative, was developed in the year 1960 to treat angina pectoris. Nowadays it is mainly used to maintain a sinus rhythm in patients with atrial fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia. While amiodarone-related optic neuropathy has become a well-recognized entity, its exact cause is still unclear. A possible explanation accuses the intracytoplasmatic lamellar and granular bodies, which develop in multiple parts of the eye as in the cornea [1], lens, retina, and the optic nerve. This process may lead to an optic disc edema and later to optic nerve atrophy [2] [3]. The first amiodarone-associated side effects concerning the optic disc were described in 1987 by Feiner et al. as well as by Gittinger et al. [4] [5]. Usually, the interval between initiation of orally administered amiodarone treatment and onset of visual loss is several months [6]. No critical dosage and no critical time interval have been defined so far.

 

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