Exophthalmometer readings in patients with Graves' eye disease.

Exophthalmometer readings were measured in 84 patients with Graves' eye disease (GED) and 111 normal subjects. The mean exophthalmometer reading was significantly greater in patients with GED than in normal subjects. Asymmetry of the orbital disease produced less correlation of the exophthalmometer readings between right and left eyes of GED patients than is found in normal subjects. Expected gender and age effects on the exophthalmometer reading were not found among the GED patients. The mean exophthalmometer reading was not significantly higher for GED patients with compressive optic neuropathy than in the other subgroups of GED patients, suggesting that exophthalmos per se is not harmful to the optic nerve.