BACKGROUND Cellulitis is commonly treated in the emergency department (ED). Patients who present with cellulitis incur significant health care costs and may be overtreated with antibiotics. The accurate diagnosis and treatment of cellulitis plays an important role in cost-effective, high-quality medical care, as well as appropriate antibiotic utilization. OBJECTIVE We aim to describe common f...

©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...

Tuberculosis is known to affect almost every organ in the body, but its manifestations in the head and neck region are quite rare. A tuberculous retropharyngeal abscess is a very rare condition and can be the cause of oropharyngeal dysphagia. It is usually secondary to tuberculosis of the spine and has the potential of significant morbidity and mortality if not treated appropriately. We present...

Lipoma is the most common benign mesenchymal neoplasm. About 16% of lipomas arise in the head and neck region, especially in the posterior neck. Large lipomas that originate from the retropharyngeal space may cause dyspnea, dysphagia, and snoring and occasionally may lead to obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Herein, we report a 45-year-old male patient with OSAS caused by a giant retroph...

The retropharyngeal space is a virtual space behind the pharynx, which extends from the scull base to the level of the fourth thoracic vertebra. Many retropharyngeal masses can cause dysphagia or airway obstruction. We report the case of a 69 year-old woman with a much enlarged aneurysm in the extracranial portion of the left internal carotid, causing dysphagia, and a short review of the releva...

BACKGROUND One of the complications of lymphoedema is recurrent cellulitis. The aim was to determine whether lymphaticovenous anastomosis (LVA) was effective at reducing cellulitis in patients with lymphoedema. METHODS This was a retrospective review of patients with arm/leg lymphoedema who underwent LVA. The frequency of cellulitis was compared before and after surgery. The diagnostic criter...

Retropharyngeal hematoma due to anticoagulant usage is a rare, life-threatening situation which must be immediately diagnosed and treated. Immediate control of the airway and coagulopathy are the bases of treatment management. Patients often respond to conservative treatment but occasionally urgent tracheostomy and endotracheal intubation may be necessary. We presented a case of retropharyngeal...

A 60-year-old man was referred to our hospital after complaining of throat pain for several days. He described the condition as a cold with sore throat. A physical examination revealed swelling of the posterior wall of the oropharynx. Sagittal computed tomography revealed a 3 × 1 cm abscess with ring enhancement in the retropharyngeal space (Fig. 1). Therefore, he was diagnosed with a retrophar...

We present four patients in whom evidence of edema or a pseudomass in the retropharyngeal space was found on CT scans obtained after thrombosis of the internal jugular vein. The clinical condition of one patient led to surgery, which documented the sterility of the retropharyngeal space despite the CT appearance of an inflammatory process. The CT findings, which are confusing initially, are fou...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Cellulitis is a common infectious disease. However, the risk of cellulitis in cirrhotic patients is not well established, and whether liver cirrhosis is a risk factor for cellulitis remains unknown. This study evaluated the relationship between cellulitis and liver cirrhosis. METHODS The National Health Insurance Database, which was derived from the Taiwan National Health Insu...