Prevalence, morbidity and mortality of deep neck abscess in a tertiary hospital from Northwestern Mexico

Abstract

BACKGROUND. Neck abscesses are defined as processes of infectious origin, which form a collection of purulent material through the deep planes of the neck, formed by fasciae. It may involve one or more spaces of the cervical region. In addition, they can be localized or disseminated and generate extremely serious and life-threatening complications. OBJECTIVE. To identify the prevalence of deep neck abscess in our tertiary hospital center. MATERIAL AND METHODS. A retrospective, analytical, observational, and cross-sectional study was carried out from January 2015 to May 2019. The data observed during the care of the patients with a diagnosis of deep neck abscess were collected from the clinical records. Descriptive statistics were performed, and the odd ratio was used for the risk probability analysis. RESULTS. A prevalence of 42 cases was found in 5 years, with 8.4 annual cases, average age of 45.2 years, male gender predominance in 53% of the cases. Descending mediastinitis was the most common complication and a mortality of 8.33% was presented. Type 2 diabetes mellitus and the involvement of 3 or more spaces represented a higher risk for complications compared to healthy patients who presented involvement of ≤2 spaces. CONCLUSION. In the Northwestern region of Mexico of IMSS beneficiaries, we have a prevalence of 42 cases in 5 years, 8.4 per year. The average age of our series is 45.2 years and there is no difference regarding the affection by gender. The involvement of two or more than three spaces represents the majority of cases. More than half of our cases underwent surgical drainage. Type 2 diabetes mellitus alone or accompanied with other comorbidities was the most common associated pathology; this same entity and the involvement of 3 or more spaces presented a higher risk of complications