An unnoticed origin of fever: Periapical tooth abscess. Three case reports and literature review

Arslan F., Karagöz E., Arslan B. Y., MERT A.

Infezioni in Medicina, cilt.24, sa.1, ss.67-70, 2016 (Scopus) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 24 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2016
  • Dergi Adı: Infezioni in Medicina
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.67-70
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Dental infection, Fever of unknown origin, Periapical abscess, Persistent fever, Tooth
  • İstanbul Medipol Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Dental infections may lead to severe local or systemic infections such as endocarditis, brain abscesses and mediastinitis. Fever may be the only symptom. We aim to highlight dental/odontogenic abscesses as the occult source of unexplained fever by reporting on three cases and reviewing the relevant literature. Early dental evaluation and referral of patients with persistent fever (even without any oral symptoms) to a dentist plays a critical role in preventing unnecessary, time-consuming and high-cost further diagnostic tests and invasive procedures. A simple panoramic dental radiography may suffice to establish the diagnosis.