Head and neck virus

Find out more about why your neck may be stiff, and what you can do about the pain. And a stiff neck often seems to linger on and on. Since neck stiffness can be a symptom of a serious condition, it is a good idea to seek medical care, especially if your stiff neck is severe, persistent, and accompanied by other symptoms described above. To determine the cause of your stiff neck, your doctor will perform a physical exam and talk with you about your symptoms.

In some cases, an X-ray , computed tomography CT scan, magnetic resonance imaging MRI , or another imaging study will be conducted so your doctor can view the bones and tissues inside your neck. Your treatment will depend on the cause of your stiff neck. In the case of strained muscles or ligaments, initial treatment may include:.

If your stiff neck gets worse or does not begin to improve within a week or two, let your doctor know. Most cases do resolve in four to six weeks, but others take longer to get better. Your doctor will be able to tell you when you may need more specialized care to relieve your symptoms.

By subscribing you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Health Topics. Health Tools. An uncommon occurrence of acute retropharyngeal abscess in an adult as a result of a retained foreign body, a large piece of wood impacted in neck in a road accident has reported [ 9 ].

Deep neck infections may be lethal especially in immunocompromised hosts such as diabetic patients. Unique features of DNIs in diabetic patients were as older age, unclear source, involvement of multiple spaces and higher complication rate, in a study. During the second half of this century, intravenous drug abusers appeared as a new group of patients at risk for DNIs [ 4 , 10 ]. In six of our patients, the underlying cause of submandibular infection was SCC of the tongue, with necrotic metastatic nodes in the submandibular space.

In general, malignancies presenting as abscesses are uncommon [ 11 ]. There are reports of a neck abscess originating in metastatic nodes from esophageal SCC and retropharyngeal abscess in two cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma [ 11 , 12 ]. Deep neck infections require prompt treatment. After taking a complete history, physical examination, fluid and electrolyte resuscitation, laboratory and imaging studies, medical treatment is initiated.

Treatment consists of ensuring adequate ventilation by securing the airway, broad spectrum antibiotics, eradication of the source of infection, and if necessary, early surgical decompression or drainage. Initial antibiotics are administered before the culture results have been obtained [ 5 , 13 ]. High dose intravenous penicillin G, combined with metronidazole, or a combination of ceftriaxone and clindamycin were very effective in our study.

Such combinations cover the oral mixed flora responsible for DNIs. Clindamycin will provide adequate therapy against anaerobes that are resistant to penicillin G. Gentamycin provides antibiosis against most aerobic gram negative bacilli including Pseudomonas aeroginosa [ 13 ]. When the clinical condition of the patient does not show improvement during the first 24—48 h after initiation of treatment lowering of fever and decrease in severity of trismus , or when fluctuation is noted, immediate and extensive surgical treatment should be performed.

Different surgical techniques for neck exploration are discussed here. It should be noted that anesthesia and airway management may be difficult in these cases. A report of gush of pus into the oral cavity and laryngospasm causing acute upper airway obstruction is seen in the literature [ 14 ].

We also have had critical and riskful times at the induction of anesthesia in some of our emergency cases. Another clinical point is about timing of tonsillectomy in patients with peritonsillar abscess.

We also performed tonsillectomy after a delay of about 4 weeks, or longer in some patients in all such cases. When an infection in the root of a diseased tooth is the cause of a deep neck infection, extraction of the tooth should be performed as early as possible. Finally, although malignant lymph node metastases presenting as abscess are uncommon and have rarely been described, a biopsy of the abscess wall is recommended. Head and neck carcinoma should be considered in differential diagnosis of deep head and neck abscesses [ 13 — 15 ].

In this study, we considered patients during a period of 15 years. Our study revealed common and also rare causes of deep neck infections. The prognosis among our patients was good. Only one patient was expired, with mortality rate of about 0. Early diagnosis and medical management can be effective and lifesaving in deep neck infections.

When there is a dental source of infection, and while medical treatment is continued, extraction of the infected tooth as early as possible can be very helpful. However, when medical management fails within the first 24—48 h, timely surgery prevents extension of disease and life threatening complications.

When fluctuance or complications occur, aggressive surgical debridement should be performed. National Center for Biotechnology Information , U. Published online Nov Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer.

Corresponding author. Received Oct 31; Accepted Nov This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Abstract Deep neck infections could have serious threats for life of patients, if not noticed adequately.

Keywords: Deep neck infection, Abscesses, Medical treatment, Surgical treatment. Introduction Deep neck infections could have serious threats for life if not noticed adequately. Materials and Methods This was a retrospective study of all patients with diagnosis of the different kinds of deep neck space infections who were admitted in Boo-Ali-Sina Hospital, a center of university, in duration of 15 years from until Results Our survey found a total of cases of deep neck infections.

Table 1 The spaces involved in cases of DNIs. Open in a separate window. Table 2 Precipitating factors for DNIs. Table 3 Kind of treatment of patients with DNIs. Table 4 Complications of DNIs. Complications Number Morbidities Airway obstruction tracheostomy 63 5 Transient marginal mandibular paresis 28 Scar and granulation tissue 17 Bleeding after operation 4 Mortality 1.

Discussion Direct extension of infection through facial planes may involve deep neck spaces deeper than the superficial layer of deep cervical fasciitis.

Conclusion Early diagnosis and medical management can be effective and lifesaving in deep neck infections. References 1. Recurrence of deep neck infection. Head and Neck Cancer Regions Close.

Cancer Rates by U. See rates or numbers of new oral cavity and pharynx cancer cases or deaths for the entire United States and individual states. Also, see the top 10 cancers for men and women. See how the rates of new oral cavity and pharynx cancer cases or deaths changed over time for the entire United States and individual states.

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