Diagnosis and treatment of retrobulbar hematoma resulting from blunt periorbital trauma.

Retrobulbar hematoma is a rare complication of blunt periorbital trauma with the potential disastrous consequence of visual impairment and blindness. The preoperative assessment, diagnostic symptoms and signs, as well as the treatment of this condition are reviewed. The patients presented as well as a review of the literature confirm that although retrobulbar hematoma is a rare complication of blunt periorbital trauma, irreversible visual sequelae can be prevented by prompt diagnosis and immediate surgical and pharmacological therapy.

Histoplasmosis: the otolaryngologist's perspective.

Within the upper aerodigestive tract, histoplasmosis often mimics carcinoma, making prompt and accurate diagnosis imperative. More severe and potentially lethal infections with Histoplasma capsulatum are now being seen as the numbers of patients at the extremes of age, as well as those with compromised immune systems, increase. We reviewed the cases of 115 hospitalized patients with disseminated histoplasmosis.