Anaesthetic management of difficult airway due to retropharyngeal abscess

Abstract

A one-and-half-year old girl weighing 7.5 kg presented with a history of neck swelling, difficulty in swallowing and breathing. She was posted for incision and drainage on an emergency basis. Diagnosis was confirmed by neck X-ray and computed tomography scan as retropharyngeal abscess. Here we present the successful anaesthetic management of this child at JSS Medical College Hospital, Mysore.

Keywords

• Difficult airway
• difficult intubation
• retropharyngeal abscess