Parapharyngeal abscess in children: five year retrospective study.
Lateropharyngeal and retropharyngeal abscesses are potentially life threatening infections in children


OBJECTIVE
To review the etiologic, clinical, and imaging signs of lateropharyngeal and retropharyngeal abscesses in children as well as treatment-outcomes and complications using a surgical trans-oral approach.


METHODS
Retrospective analysis of 11 children, hospitalized in the last 5 years, with a diagnosis of lateropharyngeal (n = 8) and retropharyngeal (n = 3) abscesses, ages ranging from 0 to 12 years old. Charts and CT scans were reviewed.


RESULTS
The average age of presentation was 3.3 years. Neck stiffness (64%) and odynophagia (55%) were the most common symptoms. Fever (64%), stiff neck (64%), bulging of the oropharyngeal wall (55%), mass in the neck (55%) and lymphadenopathy (36%) were the most prevalent physical findings. All these patients were submitted to surgical drainage using a trans-oral approach in the first 48 hours after admission. About 82% of the patients showed improvement after 48 hours, and 100% after 72 hours, without any complications.


CONCLUSIONS
Based on the good clinical outcomes and low incidence of complications, the present study suggests that antibiotic therapy complemented with a timely surgical treatment, is a valid treatment option in refractory parapharyngeal abscesses.
Marques
Pedro Miguel dos Santos
PM
Hospital de S. João E.P.E, Porto University Medical School, Portugal.
Spratley
Jorge Eduardo Freitas
JE
Leal
Laurentino Manuel Mendes
LM
Cardoso
Eduardo
E
Santos
Margarida
M
D000038:Abscess / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D010608:Pharyngeal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery*; D017703:Retropharyngeal Abscess / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents