Waggie Zainab, Hatherill Mark, Millar Alastair, France Holly, Van Der Merwe Andre, Argent Andrew
Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (ZW, MH, HF, AA) and the Department of Paediatric Surgery (AM, AVDM), Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa.
Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2002 Jul;3(3):303-304. doi: 10.1097/01.PCC.0000019791.40189.F6.
To report the case of a child with a retropharyngeal abscess complicated by carotid artery rupture. DESIGN: Descriptive case report. SETTING: Pediatric intensive care unit of a children's hospital. Patient: A 2-month old girl. INTERVENTION: Surgical ligation of the right common carotid artery was performed. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Carotid artery involvement is a rare but life-threatening complication of a retropharyngeal abscess. The child developed carotid arteritis, with pseudoaneurysm formation and acute rupture of the right carotid artery. Surgical ligation was performed, with no accompanying neurologic sequelae. A high index of suspicion is needed for the possibility of carotid space involvement if there is a delay in the resolution of symptoms, despite adequate treatment. CONCLUSION: If a retropharyngeal abscess extends into the carotid space or there is a slow resolution of symptoms, carotid artery involvement must be excluded.
