Mediastinitis necrosante descendente secundaria a una infección odontológica

descending necrotizing mediastinitis is a primary complication of cervical and dental infections that spread towards the mediastine across the anatomical cervical spaces. the aim of this work was to alert the pediatricians on this possible outcome of a dental abscess, and to check the diagnosis and treatment of the dnm. we report a girl who developed a dnm secondary to a dental infection. the diagnosis was made by the clinical record, x-ray, and neck and chest computerized tomography. treatment consisted in antibiotics and surgical wide and aggressive drainage. discharge occurred after 41 days, with a restrictive ventilatory disability of 56%. early diagnosis with adequate treatment, both medical and surgical, allowed to reduce the very high mortality rate of this condition.