1994 Volume 87 Issue 12 Pages 1719-1725
A 64-year-old male complained of sore throat on February 29, 1992. He was admitted to the Matsuyama Red Cross Hospital for left peritonsillitis and neck phlegmon on March 2. Antibiotic therapy failed to improve his inflammatory symptoms. Seven days after the onset of symptoms crepitation was felt beneath the skin of the neck and anterior chest, suggesting the presence of gas gangrene in the neck. He was referred to Ehime university hospital on March 7. On the day of admission he underwent extensive surgical debridement followed by the administration of high-dose PC-G, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and repeated local cleaning with H2O2. Cultures of the neck abscess grew out Bacteroides spp. Tonsillectomy was performed on May 12, 1992 to remove the focus of the initial infection. He has been well for the two years since then.
Gas gangrene in the head and neck region has a significantly high mortality, and the number of reports of non-clostridial gas gangrene in this region has continued to increase during the last ten years. The authors emphasize that extensive surgical debridement immediately after a diagnosis is reached and the administration of appropriate antibiotics are indispensable for the treatment of gas gangrene.
