Proptosis in normal Thai samples and thyroid patients.

Objective: Find normal values of proptosis in Thai population and study proptosis in Graves' disease and Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

Material And Method: Measurement of proptosis was made with Luedde exophthalmometer by one examiner in 277 normal Thai subjects and 591 thyroid patients.

Results: The mean proptosis of 168 normal Thai female patients was 11.44 mm. The mean proptosis of 109 normal Thai male patients was 11.84 mm. The value of standard deviation in both groups was 2 mm. The 99% confidence limit for exophthalmoses in Thai males was 16.5 mm and 16.1 mm in Thai females. The maximum value was 17 mm in males and 16 mm in females and the minimum value was 8 mm in males and 7 mm in females. The difference between both eyes was not greater than 2 mm.

Conclusion: The mean proptosis of normal Thai female is 11.44 mm while the mean proptosis of normal Thai male is 11.84 mm. The distribution in proptosis in Graves' disease patients was greater than the normal population by about 2 mm while in Hashimoto's thyroiditis patients was not different from the normal population.