Chronic retropharyngeal abscess caused by tuberculosis is rare. It should be suspected in a person who presents with a destructive lesion of the vertebra and a retropharyngeal mass. Early diagnosis and treatment are necessary to prevent the serious complications of the disease. We present the case of a patient who came to our clinic with collapse of the C5-C6 vertebrae and retropharyngeal abscess. We were able to avoid any complications by initiating early surgical drainage and antituberculous therapy.
The most common space involved was the parapharyngeul space. No specific etiology was determined in .38%; an odontogenic cause was discovered in 28% of the patients; tonsillar/pharyngeal infections in 24% of patients and foreign body impaction in 7% of cases. The main morbidity was due to mediastinitis (5 patients). I patient succumbed to the disease. Mixed flora with aerobic and anaerobic infections was identified in most of the cases.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.