Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Acute Pericarditis And Acute Pleuritis/Empyema Following Submandibular Infection In A Covid-19-Postive Patient: An Autopsy Revealing The Danger Space Of The Neck, Jessica Anderson, Seyedalireza Fatemi, Joseph Fullmer, Ping Zhang

Conference Presentation Abstracts

Acute pericarditis and empyema are life-threatening complications of severe odontogenic infections; reports of these findings from an autopsy perspective are rare. We report an autopsy case demonstrating infection from the mandibular molars to the pericardium and pleura in a patient following COVID-19 infection. A 53-year-old woman with history of COVID-19 (and on repeat testing at admission) presented with submandibular abscess that grew Streptococcus anginosus. Despite incision and drainage of the neck abscess and medical treatment, her condition deteriorated, with sudden death a week after admission. An autopsy with histologic analysis was performed. Externally, a surgical incision containing purulent drainage …