Epidemiological characteristics of orbital cellulitis among adult population in the Split region, Croatia

There are few diseases in ophthalmology which could have a fatal outcome, one of them is orbital cellulitis. The aim of this article is to give epidemiological analysis of orbital cellulitis in adult patients in the Split region, Croatia.

The study was based on a retrospective review of medical records of 53 adult patients with orbital cellulitis treated during the period of 26 years from 1991 to 2016 at the Department of Ophthalmology in the University Hospital of Split.

The incidence of orbital cellulitis in adults in the Split region was 0.57. The mean age of the patients was 53.5 ± 19.0 years. Patients were male in 47.2% of the cases and female in 52.8%. The distribution of orbital cellulitis according to seasons shows that it was most common during winter with 20 (37.7%) and in autumn with 16 (30.2%) cases and less frequent in summer with 6 (11.3%) and in spring 11 (20.8%) cases. The most common cause of orbital cellulitis was sinusitis in 33 (62.2%) patients. In total, there were 16 (30.2%) surgical interventions.

Orbital cellulitis in adult patients is a relatively rare disease but with a possible fatal ending and damage to vision. It should be diagnosed quickly and treated adequately, very often in cooperation of an ophthalmologist with an otorhinolaryngologist and a maxillofacial surgeon. Orbital cellulitis appears to be more common in colder months, because sinusitis occurred more often then. It is treated with adequate antibiotic application but in almost one third of cases a surgical intervention was necessary.