[Recovery from descending necrotizing mediastinitis and multiple organic failure after seven months of mechanical...

A 61-year-old man with a history of hypertension and diabetes mellitus had a tooth extracted. Nine days later, he was admitted to the hospital with complaints of high fever, dyspnea, and anterior chest pain. Physical examination revealed a drowsy man with a fever of 38.2 degrees C, blood pressure of 66/44 mmHg, and marked redness and swelling from the neck to anterior part of the chest. Laboratory examination indicated severe infection and multiple organ failure, consisting of cardiac, respiratory, renal, and hepatic failure, with disseminated intravascular coagulation. Chest X-ray and CT-scan films showed abscesses extending from the neck to the mediastinum, and bilateral pleural effusion. Immediately, he was treated with catecholamines, furosemide, mechanical ventilation with a high concentration of oxygen, continuous drainage, repeated skin incisions, and broad-spectrum antibiotics. In addition, steroid pulse therapy was administered for persistent respiratory failure. On the 28th hospital day, a fistula developed between the trachea and the mediastinum, and an intratracheal tube had to be inserted through the fistula. On the 212 th hospital day, after intravenous hyperalimentation, continuous intravenous insulin infusion, and administration of broad-spectrum antibiotics, catecholamines, and furosemide, the patient was weaned from mechanical ventilation. A restrictive ventilatory defect due to ankylosis and atrophy of underused muscles was noted after weaning, but the PaO2 was high with a low dose of oxygen (1 to 2 l/min), and 21 months later, the blood gases were normal while the patient was breathing room air. As of January, 1996, he was undergoing rehabilitation to promote his recovery from ankylosis, muscle atrophy, and speech dysfunction.