Background: There are a number of conditions in infants and young children which produce a white reflex in the pupillary area, termed leucocoria. In cases of leucocoria, retinoblastoma has to be excluded without delay.
Methods: We analysed data from consecutive children who were presented to our hospital because of leucocoria between January 1999 and June 2005. The analysis was performed by methods of descriptive statistics.
Results: Leucocoria was found in 83 eyes of 58 children. Leucocoria was caused in most cases by congenital cataract (35 %), followed by malformations (18 %) (persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous, coloboma, disc anomaly, combined developmental abnormalities), hereditary vitreoretinal disorders (13 %), retinopathy of prematurity (12 %), trauma-associated diseases (8 %). Five children suffered from retinoblastoma (6 %). Following in frequency were inflammatory disorders (5 %) and Coats' disease (2 %).
Discussion: Several ocular conditions of childhood can clinically cause leucocoria. Knowledge of the clinical features that serve to differentiate retinoblastoma from simulating lesions may assist the clinician in arriving at the correct diagnosis.