Deep neck abscesses are severe. Emergency airway management is required when laryngeal edema occurs. In this study, a retrospective analysis of clinical data from patients with deep neck abscesses was performed to investigate the risk factors for laryngeal edema. A total of 47 patients (32 with odontogenic infections and 15 with tonsillitis) were included in the study.
We compared patient background (age, sex, body mass index, smoking history, presence of diabetes mellitus, and number of days taken from onset of illness to medical examination), blood examination date (neutrophil count, CRP, albumin, platelet/lymphocyte ratio), and Contrast-enhanced CT evaluation (whether the abscess extended below the hyoid bone or not, extension into the parapharyngeal or visceral space, abscess volume), bacterial culture with and without laryngeal edema. Patients with odontogenic infections were more likely to have abscesses extending into the parapharyngeal or visceral space and had significantly higher CRP levels. Patients with tonsillitis tend to have a history of diabetes mellitus. These results indicate that the risk factors for laryngeal edema of deep neck abscesses differ between odontogenic infection and tonsillitis. Understanding these risk factors will be useful in clinical practice.
