Ophthalmic disorders in Adult Lymphoma Patients in Africa

ABSTRACT

Context Ocular manifestations of lymphoma are rare events. Most reports of ocular involvement in lymphoma are case reports or reports of a few patients. Aims: To determine the ophthalmic disorders in adult; African; lymphoma patients. Settings and Design: A prospective study of ocular disorders in adult patients with lymphoma was conducted at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital; Benin City; Nigeria; between July 2004 and June 2007. Materials and Methods: The patients were interviewed and examined by the authors and the ocular findings recorded. Statistical Analysis: Data was analyzed on computer with the aid of the Instat GraghPadT v2.05a statistical package software. The mean; standard deviation; Mann-Whitney U-statistic and P value were calculated. Results: A total of 111 patients with hematological malignancies were seen over a period of three years of which 62 (55.85) had lymphomas. Of these; 51(82.3) were non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and 11(17.7) were Hodgkin's lymphoma. Ocular disorders occurred in 16 patients (31.4) with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and none of the patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma (Mann-Whitney U-statistic is equal to 7.500; U' is equal to161.50; P ; 0.0001). The ocular disorders due to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were seen as - proptosis in six patients (11.8); retinopathies in three (5.9); conjunctival infiltration in three (5.9); optic atrophy in two (3.9); keratoconjunctivitis in one (two per cent); desquamating nodular lid lesions in one (two per cent); papilloedema in one (two per cent); and upper lid mass in one (two per cent). Four patients (6.5) had monocular blindness. Conclusions: Ophthalmic disorders are relatively common in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Ophthalmic evaluation is needed in these patients for early identification and treatment of potentially blinding conditions