Lacrimal gland abscess in children: Two case reports and literature review

Acute suppurative bacterial dacryoadenitis (ASBD) with abscess formation is rarely seen in clinical practice. A retrospective review of medical records in the past 8 years identified two unilateral cases in children, one developed presumably after methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) conjunctivitis and the other due to community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infection. Computerized tomography scans showed globe indentation by the enlarged lacrimal glands with rim-enhancing lesions. After failing to respond to intravenous antibiotics, both abscesses resolved promptly with surgical drainage without any long-term sequelae.     

Right paratesticular abscess mimicking neonatal testicular torsion and caused by Proteus mirabilis

The clinical presentation of neonatal paratesticular abscess may closely resemble that of, neonatal testicular torsion and the use of scrotal ultrasonography to differentiate the two has low, sensitivity. We propose early operative treatment of suspected neonatal testicular torsion to salvage, the testicle in cases of paratesticular abscesses. This is a report of the successful transinguinal, drainage of a right neonatal paratesticular abscess preoperatively diagnosed as testicular torsion and, caused by Proteus mirabilis. The testicle was salvaged.     

The COVID-19 effect: number of patients presenting to The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals OMFS team with dental infections before and during The COVID-19 outbreak

This paper investigates the effect of the COVID-19 outbreak and closure of dental practices on the frequency and severity of dental infections presenting in our emergency department. We compared the mean number of daily emergency department referrals for dental abscesses in the two weeks prior to and following the Chief Dental Officer’s statement advising general dental practitioners to cease routine appointments, the mean number decreased from 1 to 0.37. In contrast, the severity and requirement for admission of these infections rose from 35% to 80%. This highlights the importance of the provision of local urgent dental centres during the COVID-19 outbreak in order to reduce pressure on secondary and tertiary care centres.     

An unusual case of a brain abscess arising from an odontogenic infection

A brain abscess that originates from an odontogenic infection, although rare, can at times be difficult to diagnose, especially in the context of pain and trismus. We report a rare case of odontogenic infection as a result of an infected maxillary third molar, causing an infratemporal and temporalis collection, resulting in a brain abscess with concurrent cerebritis. This is a clinical case review documenting an uncommon but potentially fatal complication.     

Post-tonsillectomy haemorrhage: A retrospective comparison of abscess- and elective tonsillectomy

Conclusion. There is no increased risk of postoperative haemorrhage for abscess tonsillectomies in comparison to elective tonsillectomies. Objective. There is still controversy as regards the optimal management of peritonsillar abscess. Opponents of tonsillectomy à chaud cite an increased postoperative bleeding risk. Most authors who compared the risks of postoperative haemorrhage after tonsillectomy à chaud and tonsillectomy à froid did not take into consideration criteria such as the age and gender of the patients or the experience of the surgeon. We aimed to eliminate this bias by performing a retrospective study in which a large series of abscess tonsillectomies were compared with an age- and gender-matched group of elective tonsillectomies. Material and methods. All patients had been operated on at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Duisburg-Essen between March 1994 and August 2000. There were 350 patients in the abscess tonsillectomy group (61% male, 39% female; mean age 31.8 years; range 3–88 years) and 311 in the elective tonsillectomy comparison group (61% male, 39% female; mean age 30.0 years; range 2–83 years). Results. In the abscess tonsillectomy group, 9 patients (2.6%; confidence level 1.1–4.8%) had postoperative haemorrhages which required treatment under general anaesthesia, compared to 17 (5.5%; confidence level 3.2–8.6%) in the age- and gender-matched group of “selected” elective tonsillectomies. The difference between these two rates was not significant (p=0.056). The fairly high rate of haemorrhages in the elective tonsillectomy group was mainly due to the effect of the age-matching procedure, which excluded a considerable number of usually unproblematic tonsillectomies for tonsillar hyperplasia in young children. Moreover, our results show that there is a learning curve for surgeons performing tonsillectomies with regard to postoperative haemorrhages.     

Primary liver abscess due to CC23-K1 virulent clone of Klebsiella pneumoniae in France

Since the mid-1980s, Klebsiella pneumoniae hypermucoviscous isolates have emerged in Taiwan and other Asian countries. We reported the first autochthonous European liver abscess due to an ST57 isolate, which belongs to virulent clonal complex CC23-KI. This case highlights the emergence in France and Europe of hypermucoviscous virulent K. pneumoniae isolates.     

Labial Adhesion with Acute Urinary Retention Secondary to Bartholin's Abscess

Labial adhesions are usually seen in early childhood or in the postmenopausal years, but this clinical entity is rarely seen in the reproductive years. We report a case of labial adhesion with acute urinary retention secondary to Bartholin's abscess in a reproductive‐aged woman with normal menstrual periods. We emphasize the possible occurrence of labial adhesion following Bartholin's abscess in the reproductive years with normal estrogen levels.