Indications and complications of paediatric tracheostomies at a tertiary care centre in rural Haryana: a retrospective study

<p><strong>Background:</strong> The indications for paediatric tracheostomies have had a significant change world over during last few decades. Emergency management of paediatric airway by tracheostomy has its own share of complications which need fair amount of expertise to manage.</p><p><strong>Methods:</strong> We carried out a retrospective study at a tertiary care centre in rural area of Haryana and analysed the available data of last 5 years (2017-2021) for determining various indications of paediatric tracheostomies and complications encountered during or after the surgery.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> The study included 65 paediatric patients (&lt;14 years of age) who underwent tracheostomy at our tertiary care institute between January 2017 and December 2021. Out of them 38 (60.3%) were males, 35 (55.17%) patients were in 0-5 years age group. Most frequent indication for paediatric tracheostomy turned out to be upper airway obstruction due to a vaccine preventable disease diphtheria (n=56, i.e., 86.15%), other less common causes were need of prolonged ventilation, subglottic stenosis, congenital airway anomalies, retropharyngeal abscess, laryngeal papilloma. Complications were observed in 30 cases (46.15%). Mortality in tracheostomized children was nearly 29.2%, which was mainly attributed to the underlying cause which turned out to be diphtheria in most of the cases.</p><p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> High number of paediatric tracheostomies and sheer presence of diphtheria in this rural area of Haryana suggests that there is dire need of proper immunisation coverage and an active participation at community level.</p>

Differential diagnosis and effective therapy for sore throat

Sore throat is a common complaint, which can be caused by a typical viral pharyngitis, or it can be rooted in a life-threatening disease such as epiglottitis or inflammation of the cellular spaces in the throat and neck. The doctor should take a closer look at a patient with a sore throat, immediately make a differential diagnosis and prescribe adequate treatment, including surgical intervention, if necessary.The article discusses the most common causes of a sore throat, including various types of pharyngitis, paratonsillar abscess, parapharyngeal abscess, retropharyngeal abscess, epiglottitis.Viral pharyngitis has a favourable prognosis, resolves without intervention and complications, but bacterial and fungal pharyngitis have a more severe course. Streptococcal pharyngitis caused by group A в-hemolytic streptococcus holds a dominant position in bacterial etiology and requires the use of antibiotic therapy. The differential diagnosis of streptococcal pharyngitis is based on the modified Centor scores in the routine clinical practice. Antibiotic therapy for streptococcal pharyngitis includes a 10-day course of unprotected penicillins. If a patient has an allergic reaction to penicillins, it is recommended to use clindamycin or clarithromycin. The surgical intervention combined with intramuscular or intravenous antibiotic therapy is recommended for the treatment of purulent processes in the cellular spaces of the neck. These diseases can have life-threatening complications, which include neurological damage, the spread of purulent process in the mediastinum with the development of mediastinitis, laryn-geal stenosis, sepsis, necrotizing fasciitis, jugular vein thrombosis and erosion of the carotid artery. The third generation cephalosporins and protected penicillins are recommended for the treatment of epiglottitis, and respiratory fluoroquinolones are used, if a patient has a history of allergic reactions to penicillins. In severe cases with symptoms of stenosis, intubation can be performed in addition to the use of antibiotics.

A rare case as different cause of retropharyngeal and spinal epidural abscess: spondylodiscitis

Background Retropharyngeal abscess (RPA) is a life-threatening, dangerous condition and uncommon in adults. The coexistence of RPA, cervical spinal epidural abscess (CSEA), and spondylodiscitis is extremely rare. Case presentation We present a case with a retropharyngeal and epidural abscess caused by spondylodiscitis. A 61-year-old man was referred to our clinic with the complaints of sore throat, limitation in neck range of motion, numbness, and weakness in the left arm and the left ear for one month. The airway was not obstructed. Neurological deficits were detected in his left arm. Cervical computed tomography revealed a 50 × 30 × 15 mm retropharyngeal abscess. Cervical magnetic resonance imaging showed abscess, C5–6 spondylodiscitis and epidural abscess, and myelopathic signal changes in the C3–7 spinal cord. The abscess was drained, and C5–6 discectomy was performed. The patient was discharged with cervical collar and antibiotics. Conclusions Multidisciplinary approach that consists of otolaryngologist, neurosurgeon, and infectious disease specialist is needed to avoid complications and any delay.

Paediatric retropharyngeal abscess with potts spine — A rare case

Tubercular retropharyngeal abscess along with potts spine is very rare in children. As there is no specific sign and symptoms of tuberculosis are present and even if present can be masked by features of nretropharyngeal abscess these cases may have delay in diagnosis. Early diagnosis is important to start proper treatment and can prevent the disability and mortality. In this article we report a case where a child presented to our opd with complaint of right sided neck swelling, dysphagia and neck pain with restricted movement. Any symptoms or signs of tuberculosis were not present. Clinical examination and MRI of neck suggested this as a case of retropharyngeal abscess with cervical spine involvement. Intraoral surgical drainage of pus sent for CBNAAT examination and it revealed the diagnosis of tuberculosis. Antitubercular regimen was given for 12 months. During follow up his symptoms gradually improved and after 1 and 2 year follow up child was free from tuberculosis. So in conclusion we can say retropharyngeal abscess in child should be dealt promptly and in case of abcesses refractory to conventional medical treatment, high degree of suspicion of tuberculosis should have present especially in endemic countries in order to reduce morbidities and improve clinical outcome. Early diagnosis and treatment can improve the scenario significantly.