Turkish Journal of
GERIATRICS

¹Beydağı Devlet Hastanesi Kulak Burun BoÄŸaz KliniÄŸi MALATYA
²Karaelmas Ãœniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Kulak Burun BoÄŸaz Anabilim Dalı ZONGULDAK Retropharyngeal abscess is a rare but serious disease, which is seen especially in childhood. It may lead to symptoms like neck swelling, sudden airway obstruction and etc. The most common findings are fever, neck swelling, swallowing and feeding problems. The duration of symptoms and signs can be variable. Diagnosis is confirmed by lateral neck radiographs. The most helpful diagnostic means are direct visualization and computerized tomography scan of the cervical area. Early diagnosis and surgical treatment prevents serious complications such as mediastinal spread, aspiration of pus, airway obstruction or erosion into a major vessel. In this paper, we present a seventy four-year-old case with retropharyngeal abscess who admitted with severe respiratory distress and severe feeding problems. Keywords : Retropharyngeal abscess; Airway obstruction; Aged patient