Idiopathic intracranial hypertension in Omani adults: A tertiary center experience

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the clinical profile, risk factors, and ophthalmic diagnostic and monitoring tools in Omani patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) using optical coherence tomography (OCT). METHODS: A retrospective single institutional cohort study on Omani patients with a fulfilled diagnosis of IIH from January 1, 2014, to January 1, 2020, was conducted. The data obtained from the neuro‑ophthalmic clinic contained age of onset of the disease, gender of patients, body mass index (BMI), presence of other associated conditions, and medication use. RESULTS: Our study group comprised 21 patients with IIH with an annual incidence rate of 2.8 per 100,000 population. Female‑to‑male ratio was 9.5:1 with a mean age of 27.24 ± 7.1. Headaches appeared to be the most prevalent symptom in 21 (100%) patients, followed by transient obscuration of vision in 9 (42.9%) patients and diplopia in 3 (14.3%) patients, and the least common symptom was pulsatile tinnitus in 2 (9.5%) patients. Increased BMI was seen in 19 (90.5%) patients and noted to be the most prevalent predisposing factor among our study group. The use of oral contraceptive pills was documented in 4 (19%) patients and 1 (4.8%) patient was noted to have polycystic ovary syndrome. All patients (100%) had a best‑corrected visual acuity of 1.0 in both eyes pre‑ and postrecovery and 7 (33.3%) patients had an enlarged blind spot on visual field testing. All patients had papilledema on presentation and an average of 14.1 months to resolve to normal clinically and on OCT monitoring. All patients were treated with medications and only 1 (4.8%) continued to have intractable headaches that did not respond to maximum medical therapy and required surgery. CONCLUSION: The incidence of IIH in the Omani population was found to be less than neighboring countries but comparable worldwide. OCT is considered a useful tool to confirm and document papilledema and more importantly monitor recovery.