Computerized tomography in the diagnosis and treatment of orbital cellulitis.

Acute sinusitis remains the major cause of orbital cellulitis in children, despite the extensive use of antibiotics. Staging of orbital cellulitis on the basis of clinical signs is difficult but is easily achieved by computerized tomography. The CT findings in a series of 9 children with orbital cellulitis in different stages are reported. The information obtained by CT contributes to the selection of an adequate surgical approach, if a therapeutic trial with antibiotics fails.