Mediastinitis and neck abscess following cervical spinal fracture

Neck abscess and mediastinitis are rare complications of cervical spinal injury. Often there is a delay in diagnosis because the physical and laboratory signs of abscess are falsely attributed to the vertebral injury. Prognosis is directly related to the expediency of recognition of infection and surgical drainage. Three cases of neck abscess with mediastinitis that were seen over a four-year period at the spinal cord unit at Northwestern Memorial Hospital are reviewed.