Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate patients of neck abscess in respect to its common presentation, predisposing factors, co-morbidity, frequently involved area and treatment modality needed.  

Study Design: It’s a prospective study done between January 2016 to December 2017 at Burdwan Medical College and Hospital, Burdwan.

Materials and Method: 46 patients with clinical diagnosis of neck abscess are included in our study during January 2016 to December 2017. Details of all patients are recorded and all of them are assessed for demographic profile, clinical presentation, presence of any co-morbidity, probable source of infection, abscess location, treatment procedures during hospital stay.

Result: among 46 patients 22 were male and rest 24 were female, mean age of our sample is 22.98 with SD 15.414. Patients mostly complain about neck pain (76%) and swallowing difficulty (67%). 8.7% patients have diabetes mellitus as co-morbidity. The source of infection is unknown in most of the cases, but dental caries and oro-pharyngeal infection (28.3% each) were found as source of infection in a significant number of patients. Abscess formation was found mostly in submandibular space (28.3%) followed by para-pharyngeal space (26.1%). 80% patients needed incision and drainage along with iv antibiotics whether 20% patients responded well to conservative treatment. One patient with compromised upper airway, underwent tracheostomy as a life saving procedure.

Conclusion: Patients of all age group may be presented with neck space infection. Patients with co-morbidities present with more severe form of neck space infection. In many cases of neck space infection, source of infection may present in nearby areas. As patient with neck space infection can progress to life threatening conditions, prompt medical as well as surgical treatment is very important.

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Jayanta Saha