Presenting signs of retinoblastoma in Congolese patients.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To report the relative frequency of the signs of presentation in Congolese children with retinoblastoma. METHODS: A retrospective study was undertaken of all (29) patients with retinoblastoma examined between January 1995 and December 2000. RESULTS: There were 19 (66%) boys and 10 (34%) girls. For all cases, mean age at diagnosis was 2.94 years +/- 1.6 (range, four months to six years). For bilateral cases, it was 1.12 year +/- 1.4 (range, two months to three years) whereas for unilateral cases it was 3.23 years +/- 1.5 (range, four months to six years) (P = 0.016). More than seven distinct signs were identified. Leukocoria was the most common presenting sign in 49% of diagnosed cases followed by proptosis (28%). Other signs were strabismus, red eye, anterior scleral staphyloma, hyphema and buphthalmia. CONCLUSION: Strabismus seemed to be uncommon whereas proptosis is important in our small series when compared to signs reported in the developed world.