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Case Report
Retropharyngeal abscess in a child secondary to polyvinyl plastic tube trauma
1 Deptartment of Emergency Medicine, Section of Pediatric Emergency, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman
2 Deptartment of Emergency Medicine, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman
3 Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman
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Muhammad Ali Yezdan
Department of Emergency Medicine, Section of Pediatric Emergency, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Po Box 38, Al Khoud, Post code 123, Muscat,
Oman
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Article ID: 101141Z01MY2020
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How to cite this article
Yezdan MA, Khilji MF, Iram S, Beg A. Retropharyngeal abscess in a child secondary to polyvinyl plastic tube trauma. Int J Case Rep Images 2020;11:101141Z01MY2020.ABSTRACT
Introduction: Retropharyngeal abscess (RPA) is a deep neck infection occurring in children of less than six years of age.
Case Report: We present a case of RPA in a child who came to our emergency room with seemingly trivial intraoral injury. Retropharyngeal abscess is a potentially serious deep neck space infection. It can be of medical or traumatic in origin. There is paucity of literature on pediatric deep neck space abscesses, especially here in Oman. Ear, nose, and throat infections or pharyngeal trauma can lead to RPA which can be life-threatening if it compresses trachea or large vessels. Neck pain, fever, and dysphagia are usual presenting complaints with pharyngitis, tonsillitis, epiglottitis, and foreign body as main differentials. Computed tomography (CT) of the neck is the gold standard; however, X-ray of neck can be done if CT facility is not available. Intravenous (IV) antibiotics are the main treatment and drainage in cases of large or antibiotic resistant RPA. Our patient diagnosed on CT neck and responded well to the IV antibiotics.
Conclusion: The emergency room physicians and the general practitioners should keep a high index of suspicion for the RPA in children with trivial throat injury.
Keywords: Plastic, Polyvinyl, Retropharyngeal abscess, Trauma
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Author Contributions
Muhammad Ali Yezdan - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Muhammad Faisal Khilji - Substantial contributions to conception and design, Acquisition of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Sumaira Iram - Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Final approval of the version to be published
Amanullah Beg - Analysis of data, Interpretation of data, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Guaranter of SubmissionThe corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.
Source of SupportNone
Consent StatementWritten informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this article.
Data AvailabilityAll relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Conflict of InterestAuthors declare no conflict of interest.
Copyright© 2020 Muhammad Ali Yezdan et al. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information.
