Retropharyngeal abscess appears to be an illness that occurs early in a child’s life, Dr. Schweinfurth’s research revealed. Of the 27 cases of this lesion seen at the hospital, 10 occurred in the child’s first two years of life and 7 more occurred during years 3 to 4. The mean was reached at 3.4 years.
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May 2006Some Infections Span Age Spectrum
In a number of cases, the periapical abscess, an infection originating in the root of a tooth, was most frequent. His institution recorded 398 of these serious infections, most of them occurring before the child reached age 8. The mean was 7.7 years. The most frequent time for these cases to appear was in the fourth and fifth year of life—with more than 45 cases occurring in each of those years. More than 25 cases occurred in years 2, 3, and 6. However, this infection was seen about 10 times each year of age across the pediatric spectrum.
There were 285 cases of facial cellulitis seen in the pediatric unit, with 48 cases seen in the first year of life. In no other year did the hospital record more than 22 cases of the infection, although doctors did see cellulitis cases in children of every age. There appears to be a lull in cases, however, between age 6 and age 15, creating a U-shaped curve of events. The mean was reached at 7.6 years.
“We tend to think of abscesses as occurring in the warmer months. The results of this study indicate the incidence of parapharyngeal abscess and diseases of the pharynx is decreased during spring while peritonsillar abscesses and acute periodontitis occur more often in spring and summer.” Dr. Schweinfurth said. “Age does not appear to be related to season of first occurrence; in other words no age group is more or less likely to have severe infections related to a particular time of year.”
©2006 The Triological Society
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