We present a case of neck pain in a middle-aged woman, initially attributed to a retropharyngeal infection and treated with urgent intubation. With the help of computed tomography, the diagnosis was later revised to acute prevertebral calcific tendinitis, a self-limiting condition caused by abnormal calcium hydroxyapatite deposition in the longus colli muscles. It is critical to differentiate between these two disease entities due to dramatic differences in management. A discussion of acute prevertebral calcific tendinitis and its imaging findings is provided below.
Keywords: acute calcific tendinitis of the longus colli muscle; acute prevertebral calcific tendinitis; calcific retropharyngeal tendinitis; computed tomography of the neck; retropharyngeal edema.