Orbital Cellulitis

Orbital Cellulitis

Orbital cellulitis is an acute infection of the eye caused by a bacteria or fungus. It is sometimes a byproduct of injury, a sty, ethmoid sinusitis, or an insect bite. Orbital cellulitis usually affects only one eye. It can affect the globe of the eye, the upper cheek, the eyebrow, or even the eyelid. Most patients present with swelling or redness around the eye, high fever, and/or painful eye movement.

Time is very critical in the treatment of orbital cellulitis. If left untreated, it can lead to blindness, brain abscesses, or meningitis. When a patient presents with eye swelling, and fever, usually a CBC and blood cultures are drawn. A sinus x-ray and a contrasted CT are preformed in order to assist in the diagnosis.

Axial contrast-enhanced CT image of the orbit shows soft tissue thickening of the right preseptal region (between arrows). The retroorbital fat is normal (arrowheads).

The severity of the infection determines the treatment course. Generally, the patient is admitted to the hospital to receive IV antibiotics. If the IV antibiotics prove to be ineffective, sometimes it is necessary to go in and surgically decompress the infection.