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Neck pain and dysphagia: MRI of retropharyngitis
Objective:
Acute neck pain developing over hours or a few days is often an alarming symptom that may be due to an inflammatory process or another process affecting the spine or the spinal canal, nerve roots, or peripheral nerves.
Materials And Methods:
Four patients with acute onset of neck pain and dysphagia are presented. They were examined with MRI and CT, barium swallow, and plain radiography of the neck.
Results:
In all patients T2-weighted MRI demonstrated a slitlike area with high signal intensity in the retropharyngeal space at the level C2-C7 suggestive of inflammation in the retropharyngeal space. The patients were treated with antibiotics and antiinflammatory drugs and became asymptomatic rapidly.
Conclusion:
We suggest the name retropharyngitis for this characteristic disease entity. Patients with acute onset of neck pain and dysphagia should undergo MRI to reach the correct diagnosis rapidly.