Ocular manifestations of leukaemia in Ethiopians.
A prospective ophthalmic evaluation of 74 newly diagnosed and 34 old (on follow-up) leukaemic patients, carried out from March 1990 to December 1995 is described. Primary ocular involvement, that is leukaemic retinal infiltrates, were detected in 32% of the newly diagnosed. In contrast, none of the old leukaemic patients had this lesion. In 69% of the new and 21% of the old cases, secondary ocular manifestations of leukaemia were observed. The major secondary ocular manifestation of leukaemia in both groups was intra-retinal haemorrhage. A variety of miscellaneous ocular findings, such as cataract, pterygium, pingeculae, etc. were detected in 36% of all leukemics. These findings indicate the importance of a complete ophthalmologic evaluation in the diagnosis, follow-up and management of leukaemic patients.
Alemayehu
W
W
Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.
Shamebo
M
M
Bedri
A
A
Mengistu
Z
Z
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005002:Ethiopia; D005123:Eye / Q000473:pathology*; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007938:Leukemia / Q000150:complications*; D017254:Leukemic Infiltration / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution