ear, nose, and throat disorders
Retropharyngeal Abscess
Symptoms and Signs of Retropharyngeal Abscess
Symptoms and signs of a retropharyngeal abscess are usually preceded in children by an acute upper respiratory infection and in adults by foreign body ingestion or instrumentation. Children may have odynophagia, dysphagia, fever, cervical lymphadenopathy, nuchal rigidity, stridor, dyspnea, snoring or noisy breathing, and torticollis. Adults may have severe neck pain but less often have stridor. The posterior pharyngeal wall may bulge to one side. 