Orbital abscess with white eye in patients treated with oral antibiotics for orbital cellulitis

ABSTRACT

Purpose

To report a case series of seven patients with late presentation of orbital/subperiosteal abscess following oral treatment of orbital cellulitis.

Methods

A retrospective case series of all patients presented with orbital abscess following oral treatment of orbital cellulitis from two tertiary-care eye centres in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was conducted. Demographic profiles, risk factors, initial clinical presentation, management regimens, and final outcome were analysed.

Results

Patients presented mainly with proptosis and limitation of extraocular motility without external ophthalmic inflammatory signs. Most patients needed surgical evacuation despite the appropriate initiation of intravenous antibiotics following presentation to our hospitals.

Conclusion

Treating orbital cellulitis with oral antibiotics may lead to delayed presentation of orbital abscess without external ophthalmic inflammatory signs.

KEYWORDS:

• Orbital cellulitis
• subperiosteal abscess
• orbital abscess
• white eye
• antibiotics

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Ethics statement

This study involves human participants and it was approved by the Institutional Review Board, College of Medicine, King Saud University; IRB protocol number is E-22-4417.

Informed consent

An informed consent was obtained from the patients’ legal guardian for the use and publication of data and photos.

Additional information

Funding

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