Results
Out of 315 patients with deep neck infection during the study period, 20
(6.3%) patients (8 women and 12 men) with DNM were included in this
study. Their mean age was 57.8 years (range, 32 to 82 years).
Characteristics and clinical courses of these patients are summarized in
Table 1. Among them, 40% (8 of 20) were older than 65 years and 50%
(10 of 20) had diabetes mellitus (DM) as the underlying disease.
Oropharyngeal infection such as peritonsillar abscess was the most
common (65%) cause of DNM. Type I (superior mediastinum), type IIA
(anteroinferior mediastinum), and type IIB (posteroinferior mediastinum)
had 10 (50%), 3 (15%), and 7 (35%) cases, respectively. Ten (50%)
patients undertook both cervicotomy and thoracotomy simultaneously.