ABSTRACT
Sinonasal infections are common in the paediatric population. Viral upper respiratory infections are commonplace, and a proportion of these will go on to cause a more prolonged episode of sinusitis. sinusitis in children can cause complications with potentially life-threatening or life-changing sequelae, and it is essential that any otolaryngologist caring for children has a good working knowledge of the potential complications, the clinical assessment of affected children, and their investigation and management. Complications of acute sinusitis may be classified as orbital, intracranial and osseous. Orbital complications occur with the greatest frequency in children, owing to the particularly thin paediatric lamina papyracea facilitating the spread of infection to the orbit. When orbital complications are suspected, the most useful and practical investigation is a computed tomography (CT) scan of the orbits with contrast. Intracranial complications may also be detected using CT scanning, although magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is likely to have greater sensitivity in detecting subtler intracranial complications.
