AIM: To compare the visual field characteristics of patients with idiopathic demyelinating optic neuritis(IDON), non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy(NAION)and papilledema(PE), and analyze their occurrence mechanism.

METHODS: It was a retrospective case series study. Visual field data of patients with IDON, NAION, and PE who were treated in Department of Ophthalmology, the Fourth Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University from March 2011 to May 2012 were collected. Ages, gender, best-corrected visual acuities(BCVA), pupil sizes, the visual field testing duration, types of visual field defect, the defect locations, mean deviation(MD)and pattern standard deviation(PSD)of the patients were compared and the reasons of these differences were analyzed by SPSS 12.0.

RESULTS: There were 17 cases(20 eyes)with IDON, 21 cases(26 eyes)with NAION, 11 cases(22 eyes)with PE included in this study. All differences from mean age, gender composition, BCVA, pupil size, visual field testing duration, MD and PSD among three groups had statistical significance(P<0.05).

CONCLUSION: Although these visual fields of patients with IDON, NAION and PE are complex, they have different features closely related with the pathogenesis of disease. These features can provide important evidence for differential diagnosis among optic nerve diseases.