Acute non-tuberculous retropharyngeal abscess in an adult. A case report and review of the literature.

Retropharyngeal abscesses in adults are very rare and usually secondary to chronic tuberculous cervical spine osteomyelitis. We report a case of Staphylococcus aureus septicaemia with multifocal abscesses and osteomyelitis of the cervical spine causing a retropharyngeal abscess. This presented as neck pain and dysphagia following a fall. In addition, we have reviewed related cases.