Nasal foreign body as the cause of a subperiosteal orbital abscess in a child.

We present what to the best of our knowledge is the first reported case of an orbital abscess as a result of acute rhinosinusitis caused by obstruction of the middle meatus secondary to the impaction of a nasal foreign body in a child. The patient, a 5-year-old Hispanic boy, had presented with left periorbital edema, eye pain, rhinorrhea, headache, and a fever. The presence of a nasal foreign body had been suggested by a finding of a low-density signal in the left anterior nasal cavity and middle meatus on computed tomography. Endoscopic drainage of the abscess through the involved sinuses revealed that the foreign body was a wad of cotton. The cotton was removed, and the patient recovered uneventfully.