Orbital and preseptal cellulitis: a 10-year survey of hospitalized patients in a tertiary eye hospital in Iran

To evaluate the demographic and clinical features of orbital cellulitis (OC) and preseptal cellulitis (PC) in a tertiary eye hospital over a 10-year period. This is a retrospective study of files of patients defined as OC or PC admitted to Labbafinejad Hospital, Tehran, Iran, in which clinical specificities and results of treatment and complications were reviewed. A total of 93 records of patients with OC or PC were identified from 1997 to 2007. 42 % of the patients had orbital and 58 % had PC. OC was found to be twice as common in males but PC occurred equally in both sexes. The mean ages ± SD of patients with OC and PC were 27.4 ± 23.9 and 19.1 ± 23.3 years, respectively. 97.8 % of involvements were unilateral. The most common complaint of the patients was change in lid appearance and the most common season of involvement was spring in both groups. Sinusitis was the most common background in 53.8 % of OC and 24.1 % of PC patients, and the sinus most commonly involved was the ethmoid. Surgical intervention was needed in 48.7 % of orbital and 14.8 % of PC. The only complication seen in OC was external ophthalmoplegia in a case which needed operation. In our geographical region, orbital and PC are seen most frequently in young patients in spring and their most common background is ethmoiditis; complications may be prevented by appropriate medical and/or surgical management.