Lingual abscess: a case report

Kebebe Bekele,1 Desalegn Markos2 1Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Madda Walabu University, Bale Goba, 2Department of Neonatology Nursing, St. Paul Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Background: Lingual abscesses have become extremely rare since the discovery of ant...

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Main Authors: Bekele K, Markos D
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Dove Medical Press 2017-08-01
Series:International Medical Case Reports Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.dovepress.com/lingual-abscess-a-case-report-peer-reviewed-article-IMCRJ
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author Bekele K
Markos D
author_facet Bekele K
Markos D
author_sort Bekele K
collection DOAJ
description Kebebe Bekele,1 Desalegn Markos2 1Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Madda Walabu University, Bale Goba, 2Department of Neonatology Nursing, St. Paul Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Background: Lingual abscesses have become extremely rare since the discovery of antibiotics, despite the relatively frequent exposure of tongue to bite trauma during mastication and seizures. It is a potentially life-threatening clinical entity. Even though there were some case reports on tongue abscess from overseas, none of them were reported from Africa, particularly from Ethiopia.Case presentation: A 36-year-old male patient with severe, continuous pain and swelling of tongue for 6 weeks was presented to Goba Referral Hospital. The swelling was 2 cm by 1 cm, located on posterior central tongue, and frank pus oozed from the center of the swelling. He had associated dysphagia, odynophagia, and speech difficulty. He had no previous personal and family history of similar illness and tonsillitis. Gram staining revealed the presence of Gram-positive cocci in clusters. Pyogenic lingual abscess was the diagnosis. Treatment included incision and drainage with the administration of systemic antibiotics, which covered both aerobic and anaerobic organisms, and anti-pain drugs. The condition did not relapse in 6 months of follow-up. Conclusion: Lingual abscess should be considered in patients presenting with tongue swelling, dysphagia, odynophagia, and speech difficulty. Since lingual abscess that occurs on the posterior part of the tongue has diagnostic difficulty, professionals in rural setup where diagnostic resources (such as ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging) are scarce should be careful not to misdiagnose it. Incision and drainage with the administration of systemic antibiotics and anti-pain drugs is an effective treatment option for lingual abscess. Keywords: lingual abscesses, tongue abscess, swelling, incision, drainage, case report
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spelling doaj.art-697af136ba4f4257b822f62b6c4991d52022-12-22T00:02:40ZengDove Medical PressInternational Medical Case Reports Journal1179-142X2017-08-01Volume 1028528734274Lingual abscess: a case reportBekele KMarkos DKebebe Bekele,1 Desalegn Markos2 1Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Madda Walabu University, Bale Goba, 2Department of Neonatology Nursing, St. Paul Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Background: Lingual abscesses have become extremely rare since the discovery of antibiotics, despite the relatively frequent exposure of tongue to bite trauma during mastication and seizures. It is a potentially life-threatening clinical entity. Even though there were some case reports on tongue abscess from overseas, none of them were reported from Africa, particularly from Ethiopia.Case presentation: A 36-year-old male patient with severe, continuous pain and swelling of tongue for 6 weeks was presented to Goba Referral Hospital. The swelling was 2 cm by 1 cm, located on posterior central tongue, and frank pus oozed from the center of the swelling. He had associated dysphagia, odynophagia, and speech difficulty. He had no previous personal and family history of similar illness and tonsillitis. Gram staining revealed the presence of Gram-positive cocci in clusters. Pyogenic lingual abscess was the diagnosis. Treatment included incision and drainage with the administration of systemic antibiotics, which covered both aerobic and anaerobic organisms, and anti-pain drugs. The condition did not relapse in 6 months of follow-up. Conclusion: Lingual abscess should be considered in patients presenting with tongue swelling, dysphagia, odynophagia, and speech difficulty. Since lingual abscess that occurs on the posterior part of the tongue has diagnostic difficulty, professionals in rural setup where diagnostic resources (such as ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging) are scarce should be careful not to misdiagnose it. Incision and drainage with the administration of systemic antibiotics and anti-pain drugs is an effective treatment option for lingual abscess. Keywords: lingual abscesses, tongue abscess, swelling, incision, drainage, case reporthttps://www.dovepress.com/lingual-abscess-a-case-report-peer-reviewed-article-IMCRJLingual abscesstongue abscesscase report
spellingShingle Bekele K
Markos D
Lingual abscess: a case report
International Medical Case Reports Journal
Lingual abscess
tongue abscess
case report
title Lingual abscess: a case report
title_full Lingual abscess: a case report
title_fullStr Lingual abscess: a case report
title_full_unstemmed Lingual abscess: a case report
title_short Lingual abscess: a case report
title_sort lingual abscess a case report
topic Lingual abscess
tongue abscess
case report
url https://www.dovepress.com/lingual-abscess-a-case-report-peer-reviewed-article-IMCRJ
work_keys_str_mv AT bekelek lingualabscessacasereport
AT markosd lingualabscessacasereport