Empiema y mediastinitis como complicación de absceso profundo del cuello: caso clínico y revisión de la bibliografía

The incidence of deep neck life-threatening infections has been significantly reduced by widespread use of antimicrobial and surgical treat ment, however these infections can compromise the life of our patients; or by lost of the airway control, or to generate sepsis and septic shock that can culminate in death. The appropriate diagnosis, airway control, the antibiotherapy and eventually aggressive the surgical handling are essential to improve the evolution of the patient. The etiology of these infections is variable, the commonest is odontogenic origin, also the infections of airway, post surgical infections and trauma. The anatomical knowledge of the neck is needed to understand and improve the results. We describe a clinical case of a patient with deep abscess complicated with descending mediastinitis, pleural empyema and death.