Trench mouth: Is it a disease of the past? Diagnostic clincher: The underrated “urgent smear”

Abstract

Vincent's infection is a progressive painful infection with ulceration, swelling, and sloughing of the dead tissue from the oral cavity and oropharynx caused by the fusiform bacillus (Fusobacterium fusiforme) and spirochetes (Borrelia vincentii). However, it is rare in the vocal cords. We present a case of Vincent's angina of the larynx in an otherwise immunocompetent patient. This case report is to highlight clinician's diagnostic challenge, the need for crucial interdisciplinary interaction with microbiologist, and the significance of “urgent smear” (which is most often overlooked) for timely curative patient care.

Keywords

• Borrelia vincentii
• Fusobacterium fusiforme
• oropharynx
• Vincent's angina