Radiological Assessment of the Interorbital Distance in Nigerian Children

Abstract

Inter orbital distance is an important tool in craniofacial anthropometry. It is useful in making a diagnosis of hyper or hypotelorism. A total of 70 plain radiographs of Nigerian children were used for this study. The interorbital distance was measured using standard measurement procedure. The results revealed mean value of 19.59mm+5.59 for age group 1 day to 5 years, 23.74mm+4.15 for age group 6 years to 10 years and 28.22mm+4.18 for age group 11 to 15 years. The distance interval range was 17.63-21.55mm, 21.96-25.52mm and 26.29-30.15mm as against 12.20-18.60mm, 17.00-23.00mm and 22.50-28.00 of the Caucasian values for age groups 1 day to 5 years, 6 years to 10years and 11-15 years respectively. The difference was statistically significant for all age groups (P>0.05). This value will be useful in the medical practice most especially in craniofacial surgery.