Orofacial fascial space abscess disguised as temporomandibular disorder: a report of 3 cases and literature review

• Published in: BMC oral health Vol. 24; no. 1; p. 12
• Main Authors: Kim, Tae-Seok, Lee, Yeon-Hee
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 03.01.2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Abscess; Abscess - diagnostic imaging; Abscesses; Analysis; Antibiotics; Blood; Blood tests; C-reactive protein; Case Report; Case reports; Comparative analysis; Computed tomography; CT imaging; Diagnosis; Diagnosis, Differential; Disease transmission; Dyspnea; Gum disease; Health aspects; Hospitals; Humans; Infection; Infections; Literature reviews; Magnetic resonance imaging; Masseter muscle; Maxilla; Maxillofacial surgery; Medical diagnosis; Medical examination; Medical imaging; Methods; Molars; Mouth; Muscles; Neck; Orofacial fascial space abscess; Pain; Patients; Periapical Abscess; Periodontal diseases; Respiration; Rheumatoid arthritis; Teeth; Temporomandibular disorder; Temporomandibular Joint; Temporomandibular joint disorders; Temporomandibular Joint Disorders - diagnostic imaging; Tomography; South Korea; Infection; Orofacial fascial space abscess; Diagnosis; Computed tomography; Magnetic resonance imaging; Temporomandibular disorder
• ISSN: 1472-6831; 1472-6831
• DOI: 10.1186/s12903-023-03800-7

Fascial space abscess is a condition in which infections spread into fascial spaces. It is a severe and life-threatening disease unless treated at an early stage. Due to the similarity of clinical symptoms, fascial space abscesses in the orofacial area are often disguised as other diseases, such as temporomandibular disorder (TMD). In this case series, we report three cases of fascial space abscesses disguised as TMD. In all cases, patients complained of severely limited mouth opening and pain in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and masseter muscles, which led clinicians to diagnose them with TMD. After two patients showed facial swelling and the third complained of dyspnea, clinicians realized the possibility of an orofacial fascial space abscess. On further evaluation, all patients showed increased C-reactive protein in blood tests, and the location of the fascial space abscess was confirmed by enhanced computed tomography images. Moreover, all patients had suspicious sources of odontogenic infections in panoramic images, periapical abscess on maxillary molars and periodontal disease on maxillary and mandibular molars, which were not appropriately evaluated at the first visit. This case series emphasizes the need for clinicians to realize the possibility of orofacial fascial space abscesses based on: clinical symptoms of severely limited mouth opening (< 15 mm) with pain in the facial area, including TMJ or masseter muscle, and possible sources of infection such as odontogenic infection, other infectious lesions, trauma, or invasive treatments. These clinical insights will enable the early detection of fascial space abscesses.