• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.136-138
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• 2019

Recently, negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) has been reported to be effective for the treatment of cervical infections including retropharyngeal abscess. The 71-year-old woman with retropharyngeal abscess presented in this case showed improvement of infection through long-term NPWT. She continued to complain of swallowing difficulties after recovery. In this case, we performed the transcutaneous injection of botulinum toxin at the cricopharyngeus muscle for the patient who developed dysphagia after treatment for retropharyngeal abscess and observed improvement in swallowing.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.44-46
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• 2018

Tuberculosis of the retropharynx is extremely rare. The diagnosis is frequently delayed because of its anatomical location and atypical symptom. It would be crucial to consider tuberculosis infection as a possible source of abscess and should be mindful about the tests to diagnose it. We experienced a 23-year-old man with retropharyngeal abscess caused by tuberculosis presenting hypernasality and hoarseness in the throat. In this article, we reviewed the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of this case, with a review of literatures.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.28-30
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• 2014

Foreign bodies in upper aerodigestive tract migrating into retropharyngeal space are rarely encountered emergent cases in otolaryngologic fields. A 60-years-old female presented throat pain and lump sense after a meal. Computer tomography showed metallic foreign body impacted in the retropharyngeal space. A hypopharyngeal perforation was suspected by through flexible laryngoscopy and gastrointestinal endoscopy. It was successfully removed by external cervical approach, and we report this case with a review of the related literatures.

• Korean Journal of Bronchoesophagology
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.254-257
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• 1998

Esophageal foreign body are not uncommon problems in the otolaryngologic field. Esophageal foreign body may cause severe complications such as esophageal ulceration, esophageal perforation, periesophagitis, tracheo-esophageal fistula, mediastinitis, pneumothorax pyothorax according to the kinds, shape, size, duration of lodgement of foreign body. The majority of esophageal foreign U which lodge in the esophagus can be removed endoscopically, but the following type of foreign body may require removal by external route. 1. an impacted foreign body 2. a foreign body producing esophagitis after unsuccessful attempts at removal through the esopahgoscope 3. a periesophageal abscess with a foreign body lodging in the abscess itself. Recently, we experienced a case of esophageal foreign body (fish bone) which penetrate the cervical esophageal wall and formed retropharyngeal abscess in 54-year old female. The foreign body are successfully removed and abscess was drained by external route through the lat neck.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.81-89
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• 2004

Purpose : Retropharyngeal and parapharyngeal abscesses are often distinguishable from other head and neck abscesses on clinical grounds, but these infections can combine and the presentations are similar to one another. Because of the advances of antibiotic therapy, the frequency of the diseases decreased considerably, but recently the incidence of neck abscesses has increased. We sought to describe the clinical presentation of patients with deep neck abscess, and implications on management. Methods : For 10 year periods, 94 cases of charts were reviewed retrospectively, who were diagnosed as neck abscesses aged below 16 years old(between January 1993 to August 2003) in 4 hospitals. Deep neck abscesses were diagnosed by surgical pus drainage, neck CT (homogenous, hypodense area with ring enhancement) and neck sono findings. Results : The annual incidence of deep neck abscess has been increased since 2000. The median age of the patients was 4 years(range, 26 days~15 years); 63% of the patients were younger than 5 years. Abscesses in the submandibular space(34%) were most common, followed by peritonsillar space(29.7%), retropharyngeal space(11.7%), combined(10.8%), parotid space(7.4%) and parapharyngeal space(6.4%). Fever(73.4%), sore throat(37.2%), decreased oral intake(34%) and neck pain(27.7%) were the most common symptoms. In 6 children(6.4%), there was refusal to move neck, in 6(6.4%) headache, and in 4(4.3%) torticollis. Respiratory distress was observed in only 1 patient(2.1%) and stridor in 1 other(2.1%). The most common physical examinations were neck swelling/mass(67%), pharyngitis(46.8%), tonsillitis(36.2 %), and cervical lymphadenopathy(28.7%). Neck stiffness was observed in 4 patients(4.3%). Total 35 organisms were isolated in 33 patients. The most common organisms cultured by patients' blood or pus were S. aureus(34%) and S. pyogenes(28.6%). Most organisms were gram positive, and had sensitivities in vancomycin(96.4%), cefotaxime(88.9%), cephalothin (86.4%), trimethoprime-sulfamethoxazole(83.3%), and clindamycin(77.8%). 77 patients(81.9%) underwent surgery plus antibiotics; 17 patients(18.1%) were treated with antibiotics only. There is no significant differences between two groups. In duration of admission, fever after admission, and antibiotic treatment. Conclusion : The incidence of deep neck abscess has increased recently and the major symptoms have been changed. The incidence of respiratory distress or stridor is decreasing, while the incidence of abnormal head and neck symptoms and signs like headache, neck stiffness, refusal to move neck, or torticollis are increasing. Gram positive organisms are predominant, S. aureus is the most common followed by S. pyogenes. 1st generation cephalosporin has high sensitivity on gram positive organisms. Treatment with surgery plus antibiotics dose not significantly decrease total duration of antibiotic treatment or admission compared to treatment with antibiotics alone.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.314-319
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• 2010

Odontogenic infections are a normally locally confined, self-limiting process that is easily treated by antibiotic therapy and local surgical treatment. However, it may spread into the surrounding tissues through a perforation of the bone, and into contiguous fascial spaces or planes like the primary or secondary fascial spaces. If the infection extends widely, it may spread into the lateral pharyngeal and retropharyngeal space. The retropharyngeal space is located posterior to the pharynx. If an odontogenic infection spreads into this space, severe life-threatening complications will occur, such as airway obstruction, mediastinitis, pericarditis, pleurisy, pulmonary abscess, aspiration pneumonia and hematogenous dissemination to the distant organs. The mortality rate of mediastinitis ranges from 35% to 50%. Therefore, a rapid evaluation and treatment are essential for treating retropharyngeal space abscesses and preventing severe complications. Recently, we encountered two cases of a retropharyngeal space abscess due to the spread of an odontogenic infection. In all patients, early diagnosis was performed by computed tomography scanning and a physical examination. All patients were treated successfully by extensive surgical and antibiotic therapy.