A 7 year old boy presents with fever, dysphagia, odynophagia, and painful neck movements for 1 day.
His surgical history is significant for impaction of a fish bone in the throat 3 weeks ago, with removal 4 days later. He appeared to recover completely afterwards.
His medical and family histories are unremarkable.
WBC: 17,200/mm3 (4,600-11,000)
N: 75%
L: 23%
Hb: 12.2 g/dl (11-18.5)
Plt: 218,000/mm3 (150,000-450,000)
The C-Reactive Protein level is 200 microg/l (normal < 6)
The soft-tissue view X-ray of the neck shows widening of the retropharyngeal space.
Culture reports will be available in 3 days.