[Orbital and intracranial complications of acute sinusitis. Diagnostics and therapy in children and adolescents].

Orbital and intracranial complications of acute sinusitis occur more frequently in the pediatric population compared to adults due to anatomic differences. Since the introduction of antibiotics the frequency of such complications has been dramatically reduced. Nevertheless, even in the era of modern antibiotics these complications continue to occur and it is therefore of utmost importance not only to know about these complications but also to include them in the differential diagnosis. Appropriate diagnosis mainly based on CT scanning or magnetic resonance tomography is the basis for a rapid and sufficient and if necessary interdisciplinary treatment. In this CME article the diagnostic and therapeutic interventions in four young patients suffering from orbital or intracranial complications due to acute sinusitis are described and discussed in the context of the current literature and a clinical algorithm is introduced.