Retropharyngeal abscess

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Throat anatomy

Oropharynx

Overview

Symptoms

Treatment

Prevention

Retropharyngeal abscess

Symptoms:

prior or present sore throat, infected nose, tooth abscesses
high fever
severe throat pain
difficulty swallowing
drooling
breathing difficulty
intercostal retractions (the muscles between the ribs pull in when breathing)
stridor (a high-pitched sound when inhaling)

Signs and tests:

X-ray or CT scan of the neck (demonstrates pus filled space between throat and neck vertebrae)
Complete blood count (to check for an elevated white blood count)
Throat culture (to identify the infecting organism, such Group A strep or Staph)

Review Date: 4/11/2005
Reviewed By: Kevin Fung, MD, FRCS(C), Department of Otolaryngology, Division of Head and Neck Oncology and Reconstructive Surgery, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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