[Diagnosing bilateral papilledema].

Bilateral optic disc swelling requires following a number of steps from discovery to causal diagnosis. First, it is necessary to differentiate between true optic disc swelling and disc elevation without true swelling. Then fundus examination, visual acuity and visual field, fluorescein angiography, and optical coherence tomography are performed in order to differentiate papilledema secondary to increased intracranial pressure from optic disc swelling secondary to optic neuropathy. Even if the most frequent etiology is idiopathic intracranial hypertension, the clinician must check for the absence of any signs or symptoms related to hypertension secondary to a cerebral tumor or to cerebral venous thrombosis. Fortunately, modern imaging techniques have facilitated the differential diagnoses of optic disc swelling, and the combination of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance venography appears to be necessary each time the diagnosis of idiopathic hypertension is suggested. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.