Acta clinica Croatica, Vol. 65. No. 3, 2026.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.20471/acc.2026.65.03.07
The Impact of Public Health Measures During the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Incidence and Characteristics of Pediatric Neck Abscesses
Matea Kostić
; Health Center Zagreb – East, Zagreb, Croatia
*
Goran Geber
; Department of Otorhinolaryngology & Head and Neck Surgery, Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Center, Zagreb, Croatia; School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Elvira Kereković Mašić
; Children’s Hospital Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Tomislav Baudoin
; Department of Otorhinolaryngology & Head and Neck Surgery, Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Center, Zagreb, Croatia; School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
This retrospective study evaluated differences in the incidence, clinical characteristics,
and management of pediatric neck abscesses requiring surgical
intervention across the COVID-19 pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic
periods.
Data were collected from 54 pediatric patients surgically treated for neck abscesses
at a tertiary center between 2016 and 2022. The patients were grouped
by treatment period. Analyzed variables included age, abscess location, surgical
approach, microbiological findings, and antibiotic use. Incidence rates were
standardized per month.
No surgically treated peritonsillar abscesses were recorded during the pandemic,
marking a significant decrease in incidence compared with the pre-pandemic
period (P = 0.0386), which increased post-pandemic (P = 0.0201). During
the pandemic, parapharyngeal and lateral cervical abscesses predominated,
and mean patient age was markedly lower (1.95 years; P = 0.0095), with a significant
shift toward a transcervical surgical approach (P = 0.0336; P = 0.0109). Streptococcus
pyogenes isolation decreased during the pandemic, while Staphylococcus
aureus isolation increased. Combination antibiotic therapy was used more
frequently during the pandemic (P = 0.0112). Ceftriaxone — alone or combined
with clindamycin — was the most used antibiotic.
The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a lower patient age, increased
reliance on conservative treatment, and changes in surgical approach.
Keywords
Neck abscess; Pediatrics; COVID-19 pandemic; Incidence; Management
Hrčak ID:
351351
URI
Publication date:
28.9.2026.
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