Periorbital cellulitis in children: Analysis of outcome of intravenous antibiotic therapy.

Periorbital cellulitis is a relatively common ocular disease in the pediatric population. Early diagnosis of this disease with a prompt intervention is critical to avoid vision and life-threatening complications. In the last years, medical therapy has been expanding for the treatment of orbital cellulitis, instead of the standard surgical approach. The purpose of this study was to describe the outcome of treatment with intravenous antibiotic of periorbital cellulitis in children. A retrospective review of all children admitted with periorbital cellulitis in our hospital between January 2002 and July 2013 was conducted. Cases were divided in two subgroups, pre-septal and post-septal infection. The demographics, clinical findings, treatment and outcomes were analyzed. In total 110 children were included, 93 with pre-septal and 17 with post-septal cellulitis. The mean age was 3.5 years in children with pre-septal cellulitis and 5.5 years in those with post-septal cellulitis (p = 0.149). For both subgroups the most common predisposing factor was sinusitis. Intravenous antibiotic therapy was successful in all except one patient with an orbital abscess who required surgical intervention. In our study complete recovery was achieve in all (except for one) children with periorbital cellulitis treated with intravenous antibiotics only.