Meta Description: Ludwig’s angina is a serious, life threatening if not early recognised and treated due to septicemia and asphyxia caused by expanding edema of soft tissues of the neck. Death from this infection is approximately 10% to 17% in the pediatric population.

Ludwig’s angina was firstly described by Wilhelm Fredrick von Ludwig in 1836. It is a serious, life threatening if not early recognised and treated due to septicemia and asphyxia caused by expanding edema of soft tissues of the neck. Ludwig's angina has been occurred more usually in adults than children. Death from this infection is approximately 10% to 17% in the pediatric population. Most of the cases are due to infected lower molars or pericoronitis, which is result of inflammation of the soft tissues surrounding the crown of a partially erupted tooth, most commonly the second or third molar.

Ludwig’s angina a rapidly progressive cellulitis of the floor of the mouth, involves the submandibular and sublingual spaces of the face. The infectious process expands superiorly and posteriorly, elevating the floor of the mouth and the tongue. The hyoid bone limits the process inferiorly, and swelling spreads to the anterior aspect of the neck, causing distortion and a “bull neck” appearance. This causes displacement of both the oral tongue superiorly and posteriorly, producing a potentially life-threatening obstruction of the airway at the level of the oral cavity and oropharynx.

For more information:

https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/ludwigs-angina-a-case-report-jimds-1000126.php?aid=28586

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