{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,23]],"date-time":"2026-08-23T16:18:04Z","timestamp":1787501884661,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":14,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"1","content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BMJ Case Rep"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,16]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2022,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Torticollis in children can be a sign of a potentially dangerous disease; the correct diagnosis is not always obvious on history and physical examination. The use of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) helps to limit the differential diagnosis and direct appropriate further laboratory and radiology-performed evaluation. We present a case of a 10-year-old child whose deep neck infection (DNI) was timely diagnosed in the paediatric emergency department by early use of POCUS and drained under POCUS guidance after admission to the hospital. The culture from the fluid grew\n                    <jats:italic>Eikenella corrodens, Streptococcus constellatus and Prevotella buccae<\/jats:italic>\n                    . This case demonstrates that DNIs occur in children with acute acquired torticollis, even without fever and demonstrates the importance of early use of POCUS in cases where DNI is a potential diagnosis. Moreover, this case emphasises the importance of microbiological identification of DNIs that can be the key to successful treatment.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1136\/bcr-2021-244331","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,6]],"date-time":"2022-01-06T11:35:19Z","timestamp":1641468919000},"page":"e244331","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["A 10-year-old child with acute torticollis due to polymicrobial deep neck infection"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0720-4554","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alex","family":"Guri","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Pediatrics, Kaplan Medical Center, Rehovot, Israel"},{"name":"The School of Medicine, The Hebrew University and Hadassah Medical Centre, Jerusalem, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eric","family":"Scheier","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pediatrics, Kaplan Medical Center, Rehovot, Israel"},{"name":"The School of Medicine, The Hebrew University and Hadassah Medical Centre, Jerusalem, Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"2025082709213272000_15.1.e244331.1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"823","DOI":"10.1097\/PEC.0b013e3181c06062","article-title":"Neck complaints in the pediatric emergency department: a consecutive case series of 170 children","volume":"25","author":"Pharisa","year":"2009","journal-title":"Pediatr Emerg Care"},{"key":"2025082709213272000_15.1.e244331.2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"128","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijporl.2017.05.020","article-title":"Acute pediatric neck infections: outcomes in a seven-year series","volume":"99","author":"C\u00f4rte","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol"},{"key":"2025082709213272000_15.1.e244331.3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1186\/s13000-016-0540-0","article-title":"A fatal case of severe neck abscess due to a third branchial cleft fistula: morphologic and immunohistochemical analyses","volume":"11","author":"Tong","year":"2016","journal-title":"Diagn Pathol"},{"key":"2025082709213272000_15.1.e244331.4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1466","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ajem.2018.10.048","article-title":"The use of point of care ultrasound in the evaluation of pediatric soft tissue neck masses","volume":"37","author":"Levine","year":"2019","journal-title":"Am J Emerg Med"},{"key":"2025082709213272000_15.1.e244331.5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2893","DOI":"10.1002\/jum.14993","article-title":"Reliability of neck mass point-of-care ultrasound by pediatric emergency physicians","volume":"38","author":"Friedman","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Ultrasound Med"},{"key":"2025082709213272000_15.1.e244331.6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"342","DOI":"10.3390\/dermatopathology8030039","article-title":"Diagnostic approach to congenital cystic masses of the neck from a clinical and pathological perspective","volume":"8","author":"Fanous","year":"2021","journal-title":"Dermatopathology"},{"key":"2025082709213272000_15.1.e244331.7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1097\/PEC.0000000000002037","article-title":"Deep neck abscesses in children: an Italian retrospective study","volume":"37","author":"Don\u00e0","year":"2021","journal-title":"Pediatr Emerg Care"},{"key":"2025082709213272000_15.1.e244331.8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/archotol.130.2.201"},{"key":"2025082709213272000_15.1.e244331.9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"95","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijporl.2017.05.028","article-title":"Clinical and bacteriological differences of deep neck infection in pediatric and adult patients: review of 123 cases","volume":"99","author":"Shimizu","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol"},{"key":"2025082709213272000_15.1.e244331.10","unstructured":"Petti CA , Stratton CW . Streptococcus anginosus Group. In: JEMD B , Dolin RMD , MJMD B , eds. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett\u2019s Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases, 2020: 2521\u20135."},{"key":"2025082709213272000_15.1.e244331.11","unstructured":"Garrett WS , Onderdonk AB . Bacteroides, Prevotella, Porphyromonas, and Fusobacterium Species (and Other Medically Important Anaerobic Gram-Negative Bacilli). In: JEMD B , Dolin RMD , MJMD B , eds. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett\u2019s Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases, 2020: 2969\u201376."},{"key":"2025082709213272000_15.1.e244331.12","unstructured":"Steinberg JP , Lutgring JD , Burd EM . Other Gram-Negative and Gram-Variable Bacilli. In: JEMD B , Dolin RMD , MJMD B , eds. 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