A Case Report of Frontal Sinus Abscess Complicated by Epidural Abscess with a Literature Review

Guangming Yang,1,* Jian Zhang,2,* Qian Liu,2 Erqing Chai2 1The First Clinical School of Medicine, Gansu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, 730000, People’s Republic of China; 2Gansu Provincial Hospital, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, 730000, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Erqing Chai, Email [email protected]: Inflammation of the frontal sinus is a relatively common clinical condition among paranasal sinusitis and is curable through anti-infection treatments, with a rare progression to frontal sinus abscess. An even rarer complication is the development of intracranial epidural empyema secondary to frontal sinus abscess. In this report, we describe a case of a 14-year-old male with a frontal sinus abscess that led to intracranial infection and was complicated by an epidural abscess misdiagnosed as an epidural hematoma. The primary symptoms were headache, dizziness, and fever. Following combined antibiotic therapy and surgical intervention, including maxillary and frontal sinus window drainage, the patient was cured. A follow-up period of three months showed no recurrence, indicating a favorable outcome.Keywords: sinusitis, frontal sinus abscess, intracranial infection, epidural abscess