The foremost clinical goal is to clearly differentiate congenital causes of disc elevation from acquired disc edema. This critical process is important in order to avoid unnecessary and expensive neurological testing. It is, however, more important to avoid overlooking true, neurological disorders and provide the appropriate patient education and management.

When seen clinically, differentiating papilledema from pseudopapilledema is crucial since the former is associated with elevated intracranial pressure. Pseudopapilledema is a condition in which the ophthalmic appearance of the optic nerve head gives the clinician the false impression of disc edema.

It is important to determine the cause of the elevation in order to give the appropriate patient education, referral, and follow-up care. The optometrist's role is detection and timely referral to a specialist. The optometrist does not treat the underlying etiology but are very instrumental in the co-management of the patient's care.

	URL: http://www.opt.indiana.edu/ce/ondx/backgrnd.htm Revised: July 9, 2007
	IU Optometry home page: http://www.opt.indiana.edu/ Comments (content): Dr. Tiffenie Harris at tlarkins@indiana.edu Comments: Web Administrator Page design and coding: Terri Greene Copyright © 2007, The Trustees of Indiana University