The clinical features of the infratemporal fossa abscess and their significances

Objective. The objective of this international comparative study was to investigate the clinical features and outcome of the treatment of infratemporal fossa abscess (IFA). Study design. This retrospective study was conducted at the Deptartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of Hallym University and "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy. Ten-year records of patients were reviewed in Romania and six-year records were reviewed in Korea. The collected data was then analyzed. Results. A total of 36 cases were found to be IFA (12 males and 24 females: average age; $36.3{\pm}15.5$ yrs: 34 cases from Romania and 2 cases from Korea). The annual frequency of IFA in Romanian and Korean hospitals was 3.40 and 0.33 respectively (P<0.001). The etiology was septic anesthesia (33.3%), infection occurring after extraction (30.6%), periapical lesion (13.9%), impacted third molar (8.3%), post-extraction alveolitis (5.6%), and unknown (8.3%). A successful outcome was seen in 27 patients (75.0%) after initial treatment. The main complication after initial treatment was restricted movement of the mouth (9 cases). Conclusion. The etiology of IFA was various and minimal swelling hampered early diagnosis. To prevent IFA, preoperative painting with antiseptic agent must be stressed and proper drainage proved important to relieve pain and to prevent further complications.