Bezold Abscess

Excerpt

Bezold's abscess is a rare deep neck abscess and is an intratemporal complication of a coalescent mastoiditis, wherein the infection erodes through the lateral mastoid cortex medial to the attachment of the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle. Once the infection has reached this space, it can progress into the infratemporal fossa and travel deep to the investing layer of the deep cervical fascia. The spread of infection in this layer can lead to a progressive cellulitis/abscess, but can also proceed toward the carotid sheath, and thrombosis of the internal judular vein can occur. It was first described by a German otologist Dr. Friedrich Bezold in 1881. Since the introduction of antibiotics, the number of reported cases of Bezold's abscesses have significantly decreased. According to some authors, since 1967 there have been fewer than 100 reported cases in the English literature, of which only four cases occurred in children under the age of five.