Lingual abscess: a rarity

Abscess of the tongue seems to be a rare clinical entity and is a potentially life threatening infection. This acute enlargement of the tongue can present as an emergency, due to an air-way compromise and disseminated infection to other regions. Thus, a tongue abscess should be considered in all cases of acute tongue swellings, especially when host defenses are severely impaired. In acute cases the diagnosis of tongue abscess can be reached clinically. In later cases, culture and smear analysis are useful diagnostic tools, whereas antibiotics provide considerable amelioration of symptoms. Although none of our cases were life threatening, but we could able to diagnose these cases, based on their classic clinical symptoms and all three cases were confirmed by using standard diagnostic tool. They were put on antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs for the relief of symptoms followed by the local drainage. The following article explains pathophysiology, differential diagnosis and management of these tongue abscess cases in detail