The Role of Steroids for Pediatric Orbital Cellulitis – Review of the Controversy

ABSTRACT

Orbital cellulitis in the pediatric population is treated primarily with antibiotic therapy. This leaves the inflammatory component unchecked. Corticosteroid therapy has been used to accelerate recovery and decrease the long-term morbidity in other infectious conditions. Its use has also been proposed for pediatric orbital cellulitis. The aim of this manuscript is to conduct a literature review to summarize existing evidence and understand ongoing controversies. Overall, prior investigations on corticosteroid therapy for pediatric orbital cellulitis are limited by their study design and sample sizes. One of the most discussed potential benefits is that adjuvant steroid therapy for pediatric orbital cellulitis is associated with shorter hospitalization without major infectious complications. However, decreased hospitalization length is an imperfect metric, especially without standardized criteria for hospital discharge. Future studies are warranted to better guide the use of adjuvant steroid therapy and to optimize its potential in the management of pediatric orbital cellulitis.

KEYWORDS:

• oculoplastics
• Orbital cellulitis
• Pediatric ophthalmology

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported that there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.