A case of retropharyngeal abscess caused by penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae.

We report here a case of a 1-year-old girl with retropharyngeal abscess caused by penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (PRSP). Computed tomography disclosed a retropharyngeal mass lesion (4 cm x 3 cm in diameter), and the diagnosis was confirmed by needle aspiration of the retropharyngeal space, which yielded PRSP. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a young subject in whom retropharyngeal abscess was caused by this organism. Retropharyngeal abscess is most common in children younger than 3 or 4 years of age, during which period a high carriage rate of PRSP is also shown. This patient was successfully treated with panipenem/betamipron.