Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Nov 16, 2023; 11(32): 7778-7784
Published online Nov 16, 2023. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i32.7778
Mortal condition in an unusual localization, analysis of isolated tongue and tongue base abscesses
Kemal Koray Bal, Harun Gür, Ibrahim Demir, Onur Ismi, Yusuf Vayisoglu, Kemal Gorur, Cengiz Ozcan, Murat Unal
Kemal Koray Bal, Harun Gür, Ibrahim Demir, Onur Ismi, Yusuf Vayisoglu, Kemal Gorur, Cengiz Ozcan, Murat Unal, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Mersin University, Mersin 33160, Mersin, Turkey
Author contributions: Bal KK, Gür H, Demir I, Ismi O, Vayisoglu Y, Gorur K, Ozcan C, and Unal M contributed to the conception and design, data collection and analysis of this study, and manuscript drafting.
Institutional review board statement: Ethics committee approval was received for our study.
Informed consent statement: Written and verbal consent was obtained from all patients participating in the study.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: Our data can be shared.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Kemal Koray Bal, MD, Lecturer, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Mersin University, Çiftlikköy/Yenişehir/Mersin, Mersin 33160, Mersin, Turkey. dr.kemalkoraybal@gmail.com
Received: September 29, 2023
Peer-review started: September 29, 2023
First decision: October 9, 2023
Revised: October 18, 2023
Accepted: November 2, 2023
Article in press: November 2, 2023
Published online: November 16, 2023
Processing time: 47 Days and 15.9 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Tongue abscess (TA) is a very rare clinical condition and its treatment is very important. Surgical drainage is at the forefront in the treatment. Our study includes patients with tongue and tongue base abscesses.

AIM

To discuss the clinical and laboratory findings of these patients emphasizing the underlying causes and treatment options with the largest patient series in the English literature.

METHODS

We included patients with isolated TA who applied to our clinic between January 1, 2020 and January 1, 2023. Those who lack the recorded data, those who are not between the ages of 18-66, those who have not undergone surgery-interventional procedure, and those who have infection and/or abscess in another place were excluded from the study.

RESULTS

There were two female (18%) and nine male (82%) patients in our series consisting of 11 patients. Their ages ranged from 18 to 66, and the mean ± SD was 48.63 ± 16.3. Considering the localization of the abscess, three anterior abscesses (27%), two lateral abscesses (18%), and six abscesses at the base of the tongue (54%) were detected.

CONCLUSION

Tongue abscesses can cause acute upper airway obstruction and respiratory collapse. It may be necessary to act quickly for the tracheotomy procedure and this procedure can usually be performed under local anesthesia as intubation cannot be achieved. When we encounter an abscess in an unexpected organ, difficulties may be encountered in the management of the patient.

Keywords: Tongue; Abscess; Neutrophils; Blood platelets; Lymphocytes

Core Tip: Tongue abscess is a very rare disease due to the anatomical and physiological structure of the tongue. The rarity of the disease can make it difficult to diagnose. Particular attention should be paid to airway obstruction, sepsis, and mediastinitis. Surgical drainage should be performed in abscesses larger than one centimeter.