Retropharyngeal abscess is reported to be decreasing in frequency in recent years. We report two cases of
retropharyngeal abscess that were diagnosed within four years in Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Gifu University Hospital. Case 1 was a 36-year-old male who was suggested to have an
abscess as primary
infection and case 2 was a 71-year-old female whose
abscess seemed to be a
secondary infection following unknown primary
infection. Endoscopic or open neck drainage as well as antibacterial
chemotherapy mainly with combinations of
flomoxef and
clindamycin in the case 1 and
piperacillin and
clindamycin in the case 2 was successfully carried out. They were discharged an 15-day and 24-day after operation in the cases 1 and 2, respectively. A 30 min. culture after sample collection on operation demonstrated aerobe-anaerobe
mixed infection in both cases; three aerobes and four anaerobes in the case 1 and three aerobes and two anaerobes in the case 2. These results suggest that
retropharyngeal abscess may be a complicated
infection involving more bacterial species than has been commonly believed. Measuring susceptibility of isolates to
antimicrobial agents, a strain of Capnocytophaga sp. and a strain of anaerobic gram-negative rod were highly resistant to
piperacillin, cefroxine and
ofloxacin. It is important for adequate antibacterial
chemotherapy to grasp the bacteriology of
retropharyngeal abscess and analyze susceptibility of
antimicrobial agents.