Intracranial Complications of Pediatric Sinusitis

These authors review the experience with treatment of children with intracranial complications of sinusitis at LeBonheur Children’s Hospital, Memphis between 1995 and 2004. The medical records of pediatric patients diagnosed with acute sinusitis plus either meningitis, epidural abscess/ subdural abscess, brain abscess, or intracranial venous sinus thrombosis (based on ICD-9 codes) were reviewed for demographic data, interventions, cultures, and outcomes.

There were 25 intracranial complications in 21 children identified. (Total number of sinusitis patients was not stated, but the usual incidence of CNS involvement is 3–4% of patients admitted with sinusitis.¹) These included 10 patients with epidural abscess, 6 with subdural abscess, 5 with cerebral abscess, 3 with meningitis, and 1 with cerebral infarction. There were 9 patients who also had extracranial …