The dark side of sinusitis

Report of a case with cerebral complication

Abstract

Orbital cellulitis is a rare and potentially fatal condition associated with ocular trauma or upper respiratory tract infections, especially sinusitis. Associated complications include central nervous system involvement including meningitis, cavernous sinus thrombosis and abscess formation which occurs most frequently in children and adolescents. We report the case of a 20 year old man with cerebral empyema as a complication, denoting the importance of computed tomography and the value of appropriate antibiotic therapy and early surgical management, since the results were satisfactory due to the absence of sequelae