Ludwigs angina clinical features

(2019) RadioGraphics. Cummings Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, 3 vol 5th Edi, 1993;1199-215. AJNR. AJR Am J Roentgenol (abstract) - Pubmed citation

  • 3. For most patients the hospital stay was between 1-2 weeks.

    Conclusion: We advocate that surgical management should be done at earliest in presence of respiratory difficulty as medical treatment alone can prove to be dangerous.


    Difficulty in swallowing and pain in neck were the most common symptoms. (See "Deep neck space infections in adults".)

    DEFINITION

    Ludwig angina is characteristically an aggressive, rapidly spreading "woody" or brawny cellulitis involving the bilateral submandibular, sublingual, and submental spaces. Notably, he died in December 1865 from 'non-specific neck inflammation' which some believe was Ludwig angina 4.

    Angina in this context is being used in its more general sense of an intense localized pain, rather than the specific pain of cardiac ischemia.

    Ludwig angina is characterized by its lack of lymphadenopathy and abscess formation. 7th edi, Churchill Livingstone. Other deep neck space infections are discussed separately.

    Gerald Mandell John Bennett Raphael Dolin. 1992;21(1):39-47. Immunocompromised patients are at higher risk.

    Usually, the patient has signs and symptoms of preceding dental infection.

    Medical College & Hospital, Karnal, Haryana

    • Asitama Sarkar, Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Rajawadi Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

    MBBS, MS

    Senior Resident, Deptt. A retrospective review of 210 cases. The infection requires careful monitoring and rapid intervention for prevention of asphyxia and aspiration pneumonia.

    The anatomy, microbiology, clinical manifestations, imaging, and treatment of Ludwig angina will be reviewed here.

    Pak S, Cha D, Meyer C, Dee C, Fershko A. Ludwig's Angina. Radiol Case Rep. 2022;17(9):3103-6.