RT Journal
A1 HAVENS FZ
T1 SEvere hemorrhage secondary to retropharyngeal abscess
JF American Journal of Diseases of Children
JO American Journal of Diseases of Children
YR 1939
FD December 1
VO 58
IS 6
SP 1256
OP 1258
DO 10.1001/archpedi.1939.01990110120008
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.1939.01990110120008
AB A rare but often fatal complication of retropharyngeal abscess is hemorrhage due to erosion of the carotid artery or of one of its large branches. In the course of my training in otolaryngology a child aged 6 years was brought into the hospital on account of bleeding from the nose. She had been in poor health for two months. The lymph nodes on both sides of the neck had been enlarged for two weeks. Bleeding from the nose had been noted for the preceding twenty-four hours. A mass having a granular appearance was present in the nasopharynx. The leukocyte count was very high, and there were many immature cells. Consultants differed as to whether the condition was retropharyngeal abscess, malignant tumor or blood dyscrasia. Shortly after her admission to the hospital the child died of sudden profuse hemorrhage. At necropsy a small abscess high on the posterior pharyngeal wall was