A comparative study of the utility of 4% cocaine and 0.5% apraclonidine in the pharmacological diagnosis of Horner syndrome

Abstract

Horner syndrome is a neurological syndrome, in which the lesion along the oculosympathetic pathway can be present anywhere along the central, preganglionic or postganglionic neuron. The aetiologies of the syndrome is widely varying, but the most common causes include trauma, neoplasia, infections, iatrogenic and idiopathic cases. The main clinical signs of Horner syndrome are miosis, ptosis, enophthalmos and protrusion of the third eyelid. When recognizing these clinical signs, a pharmacological diagnosis is important for the confirmation of Horner syndrome, as the underlying neurological lesion can in worst case be life-threatening.