Incidence of orbital cellulitis in children: a population-based study.

PURPOSE: To quantify the incidence of orbital cellulitis (OC) according to age, sex, race, and ethnicity among children in Colorado and to project the incidence rate and burden of OC to the national level.

METHODS

This was a retrospective observational surveillance study of patients <18 years of age with clinically and radiographically confirmed OC from Colorado from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2022.

RESULTS

We identified 185 clinically and radiographically confirmed cases of OC in an at-risk population of 6,215,564 person-years. The crude rate and age adjusted incidence rate (ASR) of OC were 2.98/100,000 and 3.00/100,000, respectively. Five-year-old patients had the highest age-specific incidence rate (ASIR) of OC (5.97/100,000), whereas those <1 year of age, as well as 16- and 17-year-old patients had a significantly lower ASIR of 0.64/100,000, 0.27/100,00, and 0.82/100,000 respectively (P < 0.05). Males were affected twice as commonly as females (ASR = 3.99/100,000 vs 1.96/100,000, resp. [P < 0.05]). Incidence of OC was significantly higher in Black/African American (Black/AA) as compared with White children (ASR = 4.95 vs 2.89/100,000 [P < 0.05]). The ASR was higher among non-Hispanic/Latino (non-H/L) than Hispanic/Latino (H/L) children (ASR = 3.50/100,000 vs 1.97/100,000 [P < 0.05]). Projecting to the national level, the ASR of OC was estimated to be 3.21/100,000, and the estimated burden of pediatric OC in the United States was 2,331 cases/year.

CONCLUSIONS

The ASR of orbital cellulitis is 3.00/100,000 in Colorado and approximated to be 3.21/100,000 in the United States. The incidence rate is highly dependent on age, sex, race, and ethnicity.