Normal Exophthalmometric Values among adults in Central Northern Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: The variation on normal exophthalmometric value due to different factors, makes determining it very curial for diagnosis  and management of different orbital disorders. The main aim of this study was to assess the normal exophthalmometric value (EV)  among normal adult population of Debre Birhan town, Central Northern Ethiopia.

Methods: This is a community based cross sectional  study conducted from February to April, 2019. The Hertel’s exophthalmometer was used to measure EV. Multistage sampling technique was used to identify households which were included in the study. The collected data was entered, processed and analyzed by using SPSS  version 20.

Results: A total of 1108 eyes of 554 healthy adults (with a response rate of 93.6%) aged between 18 and 95 years were  included in this study. The EV ranged from 10 mm to 20 mm and the mean was 17.47± 1.94mm and 17.47 ± 1.97 mm for the right and left  eyes respectively with no difference between genders (p=0.15). The mean inter outer canthal distance (IOCD) for males was  96.56±5.21mm while that of females was 94.61±5.26 mm with (p=0.004) mean difference of 1.95, t=2.85; 95% CI: (0.61, 3.29). The EV was  not different between the sexes (P= 0.1), but decline of EV measurement was found after fifth decade of life.

Conclusion and  recommendation: This population based study identified the normal range of EV and IOCD in a predominantly homogenous Ethnic  population in Central North Ethiopia for the first time. No significant difference in EV was observed between the two gender groups, while IOCD values are significantly higher in males than females. Other similar studies that involve various ethnic areas of the country are  recommended.