EC Paediatrics

Case Report Volume 15 Issue 5 - 2026

Beyond Sinusitis: Frontal Osteomyelitis Presenting as Pott’s Puffy Tumor

Alaa Aljuaid1, Maryam AwadAllah Alkharmani2*

1King Abdullah specialized Children hospital- Department of Pediatrics King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC) Ministry of National Guard - Health Affairs
2Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellow, Department of Pediatrics, King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital, National Guard Health Affairs, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

*Corresponding Author: Maryam AwadAllah Alkharmani, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellow, Department of Pediatrics, King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital, National Guard Health Affairs, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Received: April 30, 2026; Published: May 07, 2026



Introduction: Pott’s puffy tumor is a rare but serious complication of frontal sinusitis, characterized by frontal bone osteomyelitis with subperiosteal abscess formation. Early diagnosis is essential because the infection may extend intracranially and lead to severe neurological complications.

Case Report: We report a previously healthy 7-year-old girl who presented with fever, facial swelling, rhinorrhea, photophobia, and facial pain following inadequately treated sinusitis. Imaging revealed acute sinusitis complicated by Pott’s puffy tumor, frontal bone osteomyelitis, and intracranial abscess formation. She was treated with broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics and underwent functional endoscopic sinus surgery. Due to persistent intracranial collection, she later required left frontal craniotomy with abscess evacuation. Blood culture grew Streptococcus intermedius. Serial imaging showed progressive improvement and complete resolution after combined medical and surgical management.

Keywords: Pott’s Puffy Tumor; Sinusitis; Frontal Osteomyelitis; Subperiosteal Abscess; Intracranial Abscess; Pediatric Infection; Streptococcus intermedius

  1. Yang HJ., et al. “Pott puffy tumor caused by dental infection: a case report and literature review”. Journal of Craniofacial Surgery 2 (2022): e127-e130.
  2. Hasan I., et al. “Potts puffy tumour: a rare but important diagnosis”. Journal of Surgical Case Reports 4 (2019): rjz099.
  3. Skomro R and McClean KL. “Frontal osteomyelitis (Pott's puffy tumour) associated with Pasteurella multocida-A case report and review of the literature”. Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases 2 (1998): 115-121.
  4. Forgie SE and Marrie TJ. “Pott's puffy tumor”. American Journal of Medicine 12 (2008): 1041-1042.
  5. McCallum JE., et al. “Osteomyelitis of the skull in chronic granulomatous disease of childhood. Case report”. Journal of Neurosurgery 6 (1974): 764-766.
  6. Sharma P., et al. “Pott puffy tumor”. Proceedings (Baylor University. Medical Center) 2 (2017): 179-181.
  7. Ur Rehman A., et al. “Pott puffy tumor: a rare complication of sinusitis”. Annals of Saudi Medicine 1 (2013): 79-80.
  8. Joo MJ and Schapira KE. “Pott's puffy tumor: a potentially deadly complication of sinusitis”. Cureus 12 (2019): e6351.
  9. Bhalla V., et al. “Pott's puffy tumour: the usefulness of MRI in complicated sinusitis”. Journal of Surgical Case Reports 3 (2016): rjw038.
  10. Jung J., et al. “Endoscopic endonasal treatment of a Pott's puffy tumor”. Clinical and Experimental Otorhinolaryngology 2 (2012): 112-115.
  11. Adejumo A., et al. “Pott puffy tumor complicating frontal sinusitis”. American Journal of the Medical Sciences 1 (2010): 79.
  12. Thomas Szewczyk and Farzana Hoque. “Pott’s puffy tumor: a rare complication of frontal sinusitis”. Journal of Brown Hospital Medicine 4 (2025): 143652.

Alaa Aljuaid and Maryam AwadAllah Alkharmani. “Beyond Sinusitis: Frontal Osteomyelitis Presenting as Pott’s Puffy Tumor”. EC Paediatrics 15.5 (2026): 01-07.

ECronicon Journal

Our Services

Quick Links

Information

Creative Commons LicenseOpen Access by ECronicon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Based on a work at www.ecronicon.net