Systemic steroids may not reduce hospital length of stay in acute orbital cellulitis: Study

Written By : Dr. Shravani Dali |Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2021-11-23T09:00:58+05:30 | Updated On 23 Nov 2021 9:01 AM IST

Corticosteroid treatment is not associated with reduced hospital length of stay (LOS) for children hospitalized for acute orbital cellulitis, according to a recent study published in Pediatrics.

Standard treatment of children hospitalized for acute orbital cellulitis includes systemic antibiotics. Recent data from single-centre studies suggest the addition of systemic corticosteroids may hasten clinical improvement and reduce hospital length of stay (LOS).

A group of researchers conducted a study to investigate the potential relationship between corticosteroid exposure and duration of hospitalization for pediatric orbital cellulitis.

Using Pediatric Health Information System registry data from 51 children's facilities, we performed a retrospective cohort study of children hospitalized for orbital cellulitis <18 years of age from 2007 to 2018. The primary study outcome was hospital length of stay (LOS). Secondary outcomes included frequency of surgical interventions, PICU admission, and 30-day related-cause readmission.

The results of the study are as follows:

Of the 5645 children included in the study, 1347 (24%) were prescribed corticosteroids within two days of admission.
Corticosteroid prescription was not associated with hospital length of stay (LOS) in analyses adjusted for age; the presence of meningitis, abscess, or vision issues; and operative episode and PICU admission within 2 days
Corticosteroid exposure was associated with operative episodes after 2 days of hospitalization and 30-day readmission among patients with a primary diagnosis of orbital cellulitis.

Therefore, the researchers concluded that in this database query, we were not able to detect a reduction in hospital length of stay (LOS) associated with corticosteroid exposure during hospitalization for orbital cellulitis. Corticosteroid prescription was associated with PICU admission and operative episodes after 2 days of hospitalization. Before the adoption of routine corticosteroid use, prospective, randomized control trials are needed.

Reference:

A study named, "Corticosteroids for Acute Orbital Cellulitis"by Maria Anna Leszczynska et al. published in the Pediatrics.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2021-050677

acute orbital cellulitislength of staylength of hospital staypediatricschildreneye diseasecorticosteroidtreatment

Source : Pediatrics

Dr. Shravani Dali

Dr. Shravani Dali has completed her BDS from Pravara institute of medical sciences, loni. Following which she extensively worked in the healthcare sector for 2+ years. She has been actively involved in writing blogs in field of health and wellness. Currently she is pursuing her Masters of public health-health administration from Tata institute of social sciences. She can be contacted at editorial@medicaldialogues.in.

Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751