OUTER ORBITAL DISTANCE, INNER CANTHAL DISTANCE AND INTERPUPILLARY DISTANCE, PROPTOSIS IN ZAIRIAN CHILDREN

Measurements of outer orbital distance, inner canthal distance and of interpupillary distance and proptosis were performed on 95 healthy Zairian subjects. The subjects were aged from 2 1/2 to 18 years. There were 47 boys (mean age +/- SD, 9.74 +/- 4.4 years) and 48 girls (mean age +/- SD, 9.07 +/-4.1 years). No statistacally significant difference was found between the two sexes for the mean age. Subjects were divided in four age groups: the first age group included children aged from 2 1/2 to 6 years (mean age +/- SD, 4.62 +/- 1.31 years), the second age group included children aged from 7 to 10 years (mean age, 8.32 +/- 1.22 years), the third included subjects aged from 11 to 14 years (mean age +/- SD, 12 +/- 1.06 years) and the fourth included subjects aged from 15 to 18 years (mean age +/- SD, 17 +/- 3 years). The measurements were performed with the Hertel exophthalmometer for the proptosis and the outer orbital distance, with the pupillometer model PD-2 meter for the interpupillary distance; with a ruler for the inner canthal distance. The mean +/- SD inner canthal was 27.4 +/- 2.7 mm for the first age group, 29.7 +/- 3.1 mm for the second age group, 30 +/- 2.4 mm for the third age group and 32.2 +/- 3.1 mm for the fourth age group. The mean +/- SD outer orbital was 100.0 +/- 4.4 mm for the first age group, 106.5 +/- 4.6 mm for the second age group, 111.7 +/- 6.8 mm for the third age group and 118.5 +/- 6.4 mm for the fourth age group. The mean +/- SD interpupillary distance was 56.1 +/- 3.8 mm for the first age group, 61.2 +/- 3.6 mm for the second age group, 65.5 +/- 2.9 mm for the third age group and 69.2 +/- 3.9 mm for the fourth age group. The mean +/- SD proptosis was 14.4 +/- 2.2 mm for the right eye and 14.2 +/- 2.2 mm for the left eye in the first age group; it was 15.4 +/- 2.3 mm for the right eye and 15.4 +/- 2.2 mm for the left eye in the second age group, it was 16.6 +/- 1.8 mm for the right eye and 16.2 +/- 1.9 mm for the left eye in the third age group and it was 17.6 +/- 2.2 mm for the right eye and 17.2 +/- 2.1 mm for the left eye in the fourth age group. No statistically significant difference was observed between boys and girls or between the right and left eyes in each age group. Our results of outer orbital and interpupillary distances, and proptosis showed higher values than those of caucasian children published by others studies. The data obtained in this study must be taken into account in interpretations of orbital and eye diseases and craniofacial deformities in our country.