A 40-year-old woman presented with 1 week of worsening pharyngalgia and neck swelling. Past medical and surgical history Her only medical history was tonsillectomy and appendectomy in adolescence, and she had no history of foreign body ingestion or pharyngeal injury. Investigations Fibre optic pharyngolaryngoscopy showed nothing more than swelling of the posterior wall of the pharynx.
A plain cervical radiograph, however, showed gas in the retropharyngeal space.(Image attached) Lab reports She had a raised white cell count (30·3 × 109 cells/L; normal 3·9–9·0 × 109cells/L) and C-reactive protein (3106·73 nmol/L; normal ≤28·57 nmol/L) CT scan was performed.(Image attached). What are the diagnosis and immediate management? * This case is from Docplexus Editorial Team for educative purpose only
