Retropharyngeal abscess

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Oropharynx

Throat anatomy

• Breathing difficulty
• Difficulty swallowing
• Drooling
• High fever
• High-pitched sound when inhaling (stridor)
• Muscles between the ribs pull in when breathing (intercostal retractions)
• Severe throat pain

The health care provider will perform a physical exam and look inside the throat. The doctor or nurse may gently rub the back of the throat with a cotton swab, so that a sample of tissue can be more closely examined. This is called a throat culture.

Other tests may include:

• Complete blood count (CBC)
• CT scan of the neck
• X-ray of the neck

Review Date: 11/23/2010
Reviewed By: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington, School of Medicine; and Seth Schwartz, MD, MPH, Otolaryngologist, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, Washington. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).

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