Subperiostal Orbital Abscess and Frontal Epidural Abscess Due to Sinusitis: A Case Report

Abstract

A seventeen-year-old girl was admitted to our clinic with complaint of rubor, swelling, and pain on the left upper eyelid. Her medical history revealed that she had received high-dose oral steroid treatment for one week for the diagnosis of acute angioedema in another clinic. On ophthalmologic examination, her left upper eyelid had edema, swelling, and hyperemia. Additionally, she had restriction in up-gaze in the left eye. Her best-corrected visual acuity was 0.7. The patient’s computerized tomography revealed ethmoidal, maxillary and frontal sinusitis, as well as subperiostal orbital abscess, and frontal epidural abscess. Intravenous antibiotic treatment has been arranged. Due to persistence of the clinical signs, surgical drainage of the abscesses has been performed. Following, she has been discharged from the hospital on oral antibiotic treatment. Postoperatively, at the first-month visit, the left eye’s up-gaze restriction was recovered, and visual acuity was improved to 1.0. If a patient presents with eyelid swelling, differential diagnosis should be performed carefully before making the decision to start steroid treatment. Sinusitis, which is seen frequently in clinical practice, should be kept in mind due to its potential to cause orbital abscess, epidural abscess, and intracranial complications. (Turk J Ophthalmol 2013; 43: 464-7

Keywords

• Subperiostal orbital abscess
• orbital abscess
• epidural abscess
• sinusitis