Nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy in patients with sleep apnea while being treated with continuous positive airway pressure.

Abstract

To report three cases of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) that occurred in patients with sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) while being treated with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). A prospective, noncomparative case series. Prospective review of 108 patients with NAION diagnosed between 2002 and 2003 to identify any patients who developed NAION while being treated for SAS with CPAP. One patient had bilateral sequential NAION and two patients had unilateral NAION despite treatment with CPAP for SAS. All the patients were being treated with CPAP for a period ranging from 4 months to 6 years before the onset of NAION. In this series, CPAP did not prevent the development of NAION in SAS patients. Larger observational studies are needed to study the benefit of CPAP in preventing NAION in patients with SAS.