Mediastinitis and retropharyngeal abscess following delayed diagnosis of glass ingestion.
Foreign body ingestion is a common occurrence in childhood. We report the outcome of an infant who swallowed a piece of glass. The absence of a foreign body on chest radiograph led to delayed diagnosis and then to the well documented complications of retropharyngeal abscess and mediastinitis. She was admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit a week after her initial presentation, subjected to multiple invasive and non-invasive procedures, and 6 weeks after her initial presentation to the accident and emergency department, was discharged back to her referring hospital having re-established oral feeds.
Allotey
J
J
Birmingham Children's Hospital, Birmingham, UK. jayallotey@aol.com
Duncan
H
H
Williams
H
H
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000188:drug therapy; D002939:Ciprofloxacin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000188:drug therapy; D005260:Female; D015725:Fluconazole / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005898:Glass; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008480:Mediastinitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D010614:Pharynx / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D017703:Retropharyngeal Abscess / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D000935:Antifungal Agents; D002939:Ciprofloxacin; D015725:Fluconazole