Head and Neck Cellulitis of Dental Origin and HIV Infection: 24 Cases

Abstract

Cervico-facial cellulitis is a serious poly-microbial infection of the deep fascial spaces of the face and neck which may be life-threatening. The existence of an underlying ground that causes immune failure may promote or complicate this infection. The aim of this work was to describe the socio-demographic and clinical aspects of dental cervicofacial cellulitis associated with HIV in our context. It was a descriptive cross-sectional study that concerned all cases of cervico-facial cellulitis with positive HIV serology encountered at the CHU-CNOS of Bamako from May 2017 to January 2018. Twenty-four cases were collected. Cellulite with positive HIV accounted for 1.14% of consultations in the service. Females accounted for 67.66% of cases with a sex ratio of 0.5. The average age was 33.58 years old. Housewives accounted for 33.33% of cases. The bride and groom represented 83% of the cases. The triad (pain, swelling, and trismus) was the most common reason for consultation with 41.7% of cases. The tooth 37 was involved in 25% of the cases. In 87% of cases, patients were screened in the service. HIV-1 was found in 75.0% of cases. Complications such as peripheral facial palsy were found in three cases. The medico-surgical treatment was performed in 23 cases with a favorable evolution. The search for an underlying ground, in particular HIV infection, must be systematic in the face of diffuse cervicofacial cellulitis.