Citations

AbstractObjectiveThe first international consensus criteria for optic neuritis (ICON) were published in 2022. We applied these criteria to a prospective, global observational study of acute optic neuritis (ON).MethodsWe included 160 patients with a first‐ever acute ON suggestive of a demyelinating CNS disease from the Acute Optic Neuritis Network (ACON). We applied the 2022 ICON to all participants and subsequently adjusted the ICON by replacing a missing relative afferent pupillary defect (RAPD) or dyschromatopsia if magnetic resonance imaging pathology of the optical nerve plus optical coherence tomography abnormalities or certain biomarkers are present.ResultsAccording to the 2022 ICON, 80 (50%) patients were classified as definite ON, 12 (7%) patients were classified as possible ON, and 68 (43%) as not ON (NON). The main reasons for classification as NON were absent RAPD (52 patients, 76%) or dyschromatopsia (49 patients, 72%). Distribution of underlying ON etiologies was as follows: 78 (49%) patients had a single isolated ON, 41 (26%) patients were diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, 25 (16%) patients with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody‐associated disease, and 15 (9%) with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder. The application of the adjusted ON criteria yielded a higher proportion of patients classified as ON (126 patients, 79%).InterpretationAccording to the 2022 ICON, almost half of the included patients in ACON did not fulfill the requirements for classification of definite or possible ON, particularly due to missing RAPD and dyschromatopsia. Thorough RAPD examination and formal color vision testing are critical to the application of the 2022 ICON.

Over the recent years, the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) has evolved very rapidly and a large number of disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) are now available. However, most DMTs are associated with adverse events, the most frequent of which being infections. Consideration of all DMT-associated risks facilitates development of risk mitigation strategies. An international focused workshop with expert-led discussions was sponsored by the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) and was held in April 2021 to review our current knowledge about the risk of infections associated with the use of DMTs for people with MS and NMOSD and corresponding risk mitigation strategies. The workshop addressed DMT-associated infections in specific populations, such as children and pregnant women with MS, or people with MS who have other comorbidities or live in regions with an exceptionally high infection burden. Finally, we reviewed the topic of DMT-associated infectious risks in the context of the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Herein, we summarize available evidence and identify gaps in knowledge which justify further research.