Two Cases of Deep Neck Infection in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

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Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have a tendency towards an increased incidence of oral disease, and the use of steroids or immunosuppressive drug to treat RA exacerbates their infections and, sometimes even causes serious infections. We present two cases of deep neck infection in RA patients who had a long history of RA treatment. In both patients septic shock occurred with serious early stage infection, however there were remarkable differences between the patients regarding their treatment periods and complications. The patient who underwent steroid therapy at the early stage of their infection had a particularly shorter treatment period and milder complications. It would appear from our limited results that steroid therapy is essential for immunosuppressed patients, such as our two cases, when serious infections occur.