Retropharyngeal abscess as a rare presentation of pulmonary tuberculosis

A tubercular retropharyngeal abscess is rare in immunocompetent adults. In the case of a tubercular retropharyngeal abscess, it is usually due to cervical spine tuberculosis and is seen mostly in children. A 19-year-old female patient presented to our Medicine Outpatient Department (OPD) at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) with odynophagia and neck pain for two months, without any other constitutional symptoms. On evaluation, she was diagnosed with tubercular retropharyngeal abscess along with pulmonary tuberculosis, without involvement of the cervical spine. This patient was successfully treated by antituberculosis drug therapy alone, without any need for surgical drainage.