[Orbital cellulitis. A case report]

This study describes the case of a 6 years old child, male, with orbital cellulitis and underlines the importance of an early diagnosis and therapy to avoid severe complications often present in this disease. Swelling and redness of the eyelid, pain and ophthalmoplegia are the first sign of an orbital cellulitis and they require rapid diagnostic procedure such as ultrasound and TC scan of the orbital region to evaluate the integrity of the profound orbital tissues. The child was admitted at the Department of Pediatrics, University "La Sapienza" of Rome and underwent an ultrasound, TC scan and serum exams which demonstrated the elevation of the sedimentation rate, reactive C protein and WBC plus the interesting of the profound orbital tissues. The child was treated with antibiotic and antiinflammatory therapy showing a complete recovery within 7 days. An ultrasound performed 7 days later demonstrated a complete resolution of the inflammatory process. In summary, this study would like to stress the necessity of an early diagnosis and an appropriate therapy in order to avoid the severe complications often present in children with orbital cellulitis.