Role of Acute Rhinosinusitis in Periorbital Infections in Children.

OBJECTIVE: Periorbital cellulitis in children are commonly caused by acute rhinosinusitis (ARS). This study investigated the association of ARS and the severity of periorbital cellulitis in children.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective case-control study of children with periorbital cellulitis with ARS versus periorbital cellulitis without ARS.

SETTING: Patients were seen at West Virginia University Children's Hospitals between August 2011 to August 2022.

METHODS: Patients were divided into cases and controls based on presence or absence of ARS. ARS was defined based on clinical symptoms with objective presence of disease on CT scan. Patients' characteristics, treatment, hospital length of stay, and readmission were collected.

RESULTS: The sample consisted of 118 pediatric patients with orbital cellulitis. Patients with ARS were younger than patients without ARS (6.3 vs 8.5, p = 0.025), however there were no sex differences between two groups (p = 0.540). The ARS group had higher incidence of postseptal cellulitis (51.5% vs 9.6%, p < 0.001). As compared to patients without ARS, patients with ARS were more likely to be admitted (p < 0.001), have a longer length of stay (median of 3.5 days vs 0.5 days, p < 0.001), require IV antibiotics (95.3% vs 54.9%, p < 0.001), and require surgical intervention (23.1% vs 5.8%, p < 0.001). Readmission rate was similar between the two groups.

CONCLUSION: Children presenting with acute periorbital cellulitis who have ARS tend to have more severe infection requiring higher level of care. ARS should be assessed and incorporated into the plan of care of pediatric patients with periorbital infections.