Pneumoparotitis (pneumoparotiditis, pneumosialoadenitis) is a rare and frequently misdiagnosed condition. Signs of subcutaneous emphysema in parotid gland, the neck or the mediastinum are alarming symptoms that should be promptly addressed. Computed tomography, which is the gold diagnostic standard, may be successfully replaced with ultrasonography in the paediatric population. Sialography has a complementary role in the imaging of the gland, and allows for parotid duct irrigation to remove deposits and prevent recurrent inflammation. The paper presents a case of a 12-year-old boy who deliberately inflated his both parotid glands for about 6 months, and thus developed parotid pneumatocele with a diameter of about 25 mm. Diagnostic imaging was extended to include autoimmune diseases. Detailed family history was obtained. Conservative treatment, including dexamethasone irrigation of the Stensen’s duct, was used and the symptoms fully resolved. A 3-month follow-up showed no increase in the size of pneumatocele or episodes of parotiditis.
Introduction. Parapharyngeal abscesses are invariably a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for pediatric otolaryngologists. The lack of consistency in the Polish nomenclature in relation to the English terms additionally complicates the problem. The wide spectrum of signs and symptoms, as well as an extremely heterogenous clinical presentation of the disease, also delay the implementation of appropriate treatment. Aim. The aim of the study was to analyze selected epidemiological and clinical characteristics of the parapharyngeal abscesses in children, such as the seasonality in the incidence, diagnostic difficulties, and available treatment methods. Material and Methods. A retrospective analysis was conducted on data obtained from medical histories of patients treated for deep neck space infections in the years 2013–2018 in the Department of Pediatric Otolaryngology of the Medical University of Warsaw. The study analyzed the age and sex of the children, as well as diagnostic methods and bacterial culture tests of the abscess. Particular attention was drawn to the seasonality in the incidence of the parapharyngeal abscesses in children. A statistical analysis was performed and seasonality index for the data was calculated, and a simulation of the prognosis of the occurrence of the factor for a moving average with a reference period of 2 months was performed. Next, the thesis on the discrete uniform data distribution was adopted, and Monte Carlo method was used for testing of the hypothesis. The significance level was α = 1%. The probability of 9 cases in one month was calculated based on the binomial distribution. Results. In the years 2013–2018, 23 children with parapharyngeal and retropharyngeal abscesses were admitted to the Department, 9 of which were admitted in December. In the analyzed group, a slight advantage in the number of boys was observed, with the male to female ratio being M:F = 1.3:1. Mean age of the patients was 3 years and 5 months. All the children had undergone an upper respiratory tract infection before being diagnosed with a deep neck space infection. All the patients had enlarged neck lymph nodes. The seasonality index for December was over 3 times higher than for March and accounted 4.696. The hypothesis on the discrete uniform data distribution was adopted (H0). The significance level was α = 1%. Based on monomial distribution, the probability of the occurrence of 9 cases in one month was calculated and amounted P(9) = 0.000141. Hence, the rejection of H0 occurs with an error of 0.17% < 1%. Conclusions. In Poland, the admission of a child diagnosed with a retropharyngeal or parapharyngeal abscess is most likely in late autumn – in November and December. Purulent deep neck space infections in children are a complication of upper respiratory tract infections. Deep neck space infections are difficult to diagnose due to the lack of pathognomonic signs and symptoms. The conservative treatment is an alternative to the surgical drainage in stable patients with small-size abscesses under the conditions of normalization of inflammatory marker levels and improvement of the general condition of the patient.
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