Eikenella Corrodens: An Unexpected Pathogen Causing a Persistent Peritonsillar Abscess

Eikenella corrodens is a known pathogen in head and neck infections, especially in wounds related to oral cavity contamination. It is uniformly resistant to clindamycin. It is frequently an indolent infectious process, and patients often have persistent or recurrent symptoms despite several weeks of what many would feel would be appropriate antibiotic therapy. A high index of suspicion is necessary to make the correct diagnosis, and culture and sensitivity results are paramount to confirm the diagnosis. Appropriate antibiotic therapy with penicillin, ampicillin, select cephalosporins, to the augumented penicillins is the treatment of choice in most cases, with surgical drainage of abscess cavities and/or debridement of nonviable tissue reserved for appropriate cases and indications.