OBJECTIVE: Reporting and evaluating a general pediatric unit experience with a simplified protocol based on clinical signs stated on admission used to classify cases of periorbital cellulitis in potential high- and low-risk complication groups. POPULATION: All children under the age of 14 years with acute periorbital swelling not resulting from an immediate direct trauma to the eye and the orbit, referred to the emergency department between December 1, 1986, and December 31, 1992. METHOD: A high-risk case was defined by: age under two months, meningeal or focal neurologic signs, vision loss, limitation of eye movement, eye malformation or operation in the vicinity, and clinically toxic child on admission. Absence of these elements defined the low-risk case. Initial antibiotic management was the same in both groups, but work-up was different according to the classification of the case. RESULTS: Thirty-four patients were included in the study. Only one (six months old) had a positive blood culture with Haemophilus influenzae found in the low-risk group (16 patients), and no serious complication was encountered. In the high-risk group (18 patients), five had positive cerebrospinal fluid and/or blood culture, two had subperiosteal abscesses, and three had intracranial abscesses. In the whole series, \"toxicity\" was significantly associated with either positive cerebrospinal fluid or blood culture. Fifty percent of positive cultures were due to H. influenzae. CONCLUSION: The protocol is considered practical, safe, and represents a suitable triage tool particularly if the high-risk age was raised to 12 months. There is no necessity to perform lumbar puncture in the low-risk group.

Pediatr Emerg Care. 1996 Feb;12(1):16-20