Bilateral idiopathic orbital pseudotumour in a child: a case report

Background Idiopathic orbital pseudotumour is rare in children. We report a case of bilateral paediatric idiopathic orbital pseudotumour and review the characteristics of this case. Case presentation A 14-year-old female patient presented at our Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine (PCCM) with complaints of recurrent severe cold and cough for 3 weeks, which had been treated with an intravenous antibiotic. Meanwhile, the patient developed swelling of both eyelids during the period of cold and cough, but her symptoms did not improve after the ocular administration of tobramycin dexamethasone eye drops. The patient was referred from the respiratory medicine ward to our department because of gradually worsening ocular pain, visual deterioration, increased intraocular pressure and serious nausea/vomiting within 24 h of hospitalization. The diagnosis of bilateral idiopathic orbital pseudotumour was made ultimately because of the course of the disease, exclusion of diagnoses such as bacterial ocular infection or malignant tumours and subsequent evidence from orbital magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Favourable progress in the ocular tension and eyelid swelling was achieved through treatment with intravenous dexamethasone. The binocular intraocular pressure gradually declined to approximately 15 mmHg, and there was favourable progression in the patient’s vision to 20/40 in both eyes on the ninth day of hospitalization. Conclusions Our patient developed rapidly progressive acute orbital signs and symptoms and anterior inflammation, such as pain, proptosis, limited ductions, periorbital oedema, chemosis, vision loss and high intraocular pressure. This case highlights that idiopathic orbital pseudotumour is an uncommon but important cause of acute orbital syndrome in children.

WED 242 A challenging case of periorbital swelling

A 54 year old lady was referred with a eighteen month history of slowly progressive, asymmetric, periorbital and facial oedema. She was thought to have inflammatory orbital pseudotumour.During this time, she had also developed a dry mouth, joint pains and enlarged salivary glands. A salivary gland ultrasound scan was suggestive of Sjogren’s disease although antinuclear antibody and rheumatoid factor were negative. She had recently been prescribed omeprazole for mild dysphagia and hoarse voice from vocal cord oedema.Past medical history included Hashimoto thyroiditis for which she was taking levothyroxine.Clinical examination revealed peri-orbital and facial oedema causing proptosis of the right globe and complete lid closure. Visual acuity, eye movements and visual fields of the left eye were normal. Her voice was hoarse and she had mouth ulcers. She had a widespread erythematous rash that was thought to be a drug reaction to omeprazole.Apart from mild lymphopenia and mildly deranged liver function, blood tests, including inflammatory markers and thyroid function, were unremarkable.MRI of the brain and orbits revealed diffuse oedema of facial structures, including the orbital muscles. A CT body scan was unremarkable.A temporalis muscle biopsy confirmed a high grade NK/T cell lymphoma.