Cervical adenitis with anaerobes without apparent cause in infant

Abstract

Benign cervical lymphadenopathies in infants are relatively frequent, they are defined as an increase in lymph node volume of more than 1 cm, without systemic symptoms, and when they are present, the correct term is adenitis. For its study, adenitis is divided into: local, systemic, unilateral, bilateral, acute, chronic, and by age, with different etiologies. An 11-month-old infant with a diagnosis of acute unilateral abscessed cervical adenitis, with a 72 h evolution, with constant growth at the right cervical level, fever and anorexia, for which first-line antibiotics were started to the most frequent bacterial agents (Sta- phylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes), with torpid evolution at 48 h, for which only cervical ultrasound is requested, since the family did not have the resources to request culture or tomography, reporting the cervical ganglion ultrasound of 3.5 cm of abscessed diameter, so coverage for anaerobes is added, with a very favorable response at 24 hrs. There remains the doubt of the origin of the anaerobes in the patient, without important antecedents and in an age group different from that affected by these germs. We consider this case interesting due to its atypical behavior, for the enrichment of the otolaryngology exercise, emphasizing the invaluable support of the clinic, and only with an ultrasound, since other clinical tools were not available, but following the guidelines of what is repor- ted in literature, there was a successful resolution.