Abstract
Background: Odontogenic cellulitis are frequent infections of the head and neck fascial spaces that can sometimes spread and be life-threatening, requiring urgent hospitalization. Early diagnosis of facial cellulitis with diffuse inflammatory process is crucial in patient management but not always obvious in the field. Medical infrared thermography (MIT) is a noninvasive tool increasingly used to evaluate skin temperature maps and delineate inflammatory lesions. Objective: The aim of this work was to evaluate the use of MIT to improve the clinical examination of patients with facial cellulitis. Methods: Image processing work was carried out to highlight the thermal gradient resulting from inflammation linked to infection, in 2 patients with facial cellulitis. Results: In real-time, MIT allowed to precisely locate the inflammatory focus linked to cellulitis with no propagation to danger areas such as infraorbital space or around pharyngeal axis. Conclusions: Here, we show the first cases using MIT as a powerful complementary tool in the clinical evaluation of patients with facial cellulitis. Significance: This technology could help optimize the hospitalization decision through a facilitated assessment of infection spread in head and neck tissues and helping to incision for drainage.
Highlights
Tooth infections are a common presenting complaint in dental offices and emergency departments (ED)
The methodology adopted to qualify the value of Medical infrared thermography (MIT) as a complementary aid to the decision to hospitalize a patient with facial cellulitis is an a posteriori data confrontation methodology
The two patients with cervicofacial cellulitis included in this study were both women, aged 25 and 32 years, respectively
Summary
Tooth infections are a common presenting complaint in dental offices and emergency departments (ED) These minor localized pyogenic infections can progress to the fascial spaces of the head and neck when neglected, leading to the establishment of cellulitis [1]. Despite IV antibiotic therapy and surgical management, odontogenic infections may promptly spread to deep spaces of the head and neck. Odontogenic cellulitis are frequent infections of the head and neck fascial spaces that can sometimes spread and be life-threatening, requiring urgent hospitalization. Objective: The aim of this work was to evaluate the use of MIT to improve the clinical examination of patients with facial cellulitis. Conclusions: Here, we show the first cases using MIT as a powerful complementary tool in the clinical evaluation of patients with facial cellulitis. Significance: This technology could help optimize the hospitalization decision through a facilitated assessment of infection spread in head and neck tissues and helping to incision for drainage
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