©2015 8872147 Canada Inc. or its licensors CMAJ 1 A 40-year-old man presented to our hospital with low-grade fever and acute pain in the neck, which had both begun a day before his visit and persisted through the night. He also reported difficulty opening his mouth and pain when bending his head back or swallowing. On examination, axillary temperature was 37.5oC, but other vital signs were norm...

With the emergence of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the incidence of deep neck space infections and associated life-threatening complications has been on the rise. We describe a case of tubercular retropharyngeal abscess in an HIV-positive patient who developed bilateral parapharyngeal space abscesses and was treated by incision and drainage.

In this article, we discuss clinical manifestations, laboratory results, and radiological findings in an old man with suppurative tender mass in the neck, accompanied by, fever, weight loss, malaise, fatigue, night sweat, cough, vomiting, and dysphagia. Pharyngeal exam revealed a huge retropharyngeal abscess.

We report early carotid involvement by retropharyngeal abscess in a 4-year-old boy. MR imaging showed enhancement of the wall and narrowing of the lumen of the internal carotid artery, which were thought to reflect spasm and/or arteritis. Prompt treatment may have prevented hemorrhagic and neurologic complications.

A 40-year-old female presented to the emergency department with a one-week history of URI symptoms and a one-day history of more severe throat pain and swelling. Upon physical examination the patient was afebrile and although she did not demonstrate any signs of respiratory distress, examination of her neck revealed fullness on the right. A lateral plain film of the neck showed soft tissue swel...