Ophthalmic Disorders in Adult Lymphoma Patients in Africa

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 GraghPad™ 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.