Costal tubercular osteomyelitis presenting as an orbital abscess.

Orbital abscesses are most commonly associated with co-existing active paranasal sinus infection. Herein, the authors present the case of an orbital abscess in the setting of costal tubercular osteomyelitis and an anterior chest wall abscess in the absence of any paranasal sinus pathology in an immunocompetent patient. Costal tuberculosis is a very rare form of extrapulmonary skeletal tuberculosis and is challenging to diagnose. Initial presentation as an orbital abscess remote from the site of the primary pathology is of extremely rare occurrence. In this instance, the diagnosis of tuberculous osteomyelitis was suspected primarily on the basis of clinicoradiological features. The patient was treated with, and responded well to, standard first-line anti-tubercular therapy (ATT) for extrapulmonary tuberculosis.