Abstract
A 51-year-old man was hospitalized to receive radiotherapy for mesopharyngeal carcinoma. After he was treated at a dose of 24 Gy, redness of the neck and high fever appeared, but total WBC count remained within the normal level. After four days, CRP was elevated, and then CT scan demonstrated cervical and mediastinal abscess. In addition to antibiotic therapy, emergency cervical drainage and frequent evaculation of necrotic tissue were effective, resulting in complete recovery from deep cervical and mediastinal abscess. The reason that total WBC count was not elevated in the early stage of his neck infection was probably bone marrow suppression induced by radiotherapy. Therefore, CRP is a more suitable index than total WBC count for early diagnosis of cervical infection of the patient with radiotherapy.
