Emergency head & neck imaging: infections and inflammatory processes.
Neck infections are fairly common in the emergency setting, affecting a broad spectrum of the patient population. Care should be taken not only to distinguish these conditions from other noninfectious origin such as malignancy but also to guide acute clinical management. A familiarity with neck anatomy, the imaging modalities used for investigation of such conditions, as well as common findings on imaging are critical to the care of affected patients. Cross-sectional imaging is a mainstay in this setting. This article presents the most common neck infections, and details some of their most prominent findings on cross-sectional imaging.
Department of Radiology, University of Michigan Health System, 1500 East Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA. jason.mckellop@nyumc.org
Jason A
JA
McKellop
Wessam
W
Bou-Assaly
Suresh K
SK
Mukherji
D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D004630:Emergencies; D006257:Head / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007239:Infections / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D007249:Inflammation / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D009333:Neck / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D011859:Radiography