AIM: To analyze the clinical data of 54 cases misdiagnosed as optic neuritis and to explore measures to reduce misdiagnosis

METHODS:This retrospective study comprised 54 patients that had been misdiagnosed as optic neuritis from September 2000 to June 2013. The misdiagnosis features were summarized.

RESULTS:Many diseases can easily be misdiagnosed as optic neuritis, including ischemic optic neuropathy, intracranial tumors, optic nerve vasculitis, myelinated nerve fibers, and so on.

CONCLUSION: The measures to reduce misdiagnosis consisted of detailed history collection, perfect physical examination and comprehensive expertise of fundus disease.