Unilateral proptosis in Nigerians: causes and differential diagnosis

Of 75 cases of unilateral proptosis in Nigerians seen at Lagos University Teaching Hospital over a 5-year period 47% were in persons under the age of 15 years, and 87% occurred in the first three decades of life. The lesions were mostly orbital or nasal. Orbital cellulitis caused 52% of the cases, retinoblastoma with orbital extension 12% and hemorrhage due to trauma 12%. Overall, neoplasms accounted for only 29% of the cases, a low proportion compared with rates in other series. No cases were due to an endocrine disorder, again in contrast to other series. These differences may be due to differences in the interests of the investigators, geographic and demographic variation between the patient groups or differences in the criteria for the inclusion of patients in the studies.