Toloczko, Alexandra J.Davis, Thomas S.Issa, Mayada H.2024-07-152024-07-152024-07-12Journal of Medical Case Reports. 2024 Jul 12;18(1):317https://hdl.handle.net/10919/120669Background: Mastoiditis frequently occurs in children as they are more susceptible to middle ear infections, but infrequently occurs in adults. A rare complication that results from mastoiditis and an obstructing cholesteatoma is a Bezold’s abscess, of which there are less than 100 reported cases in literature to date. Case presentation: Here, we present a case of a 72-year-old Caucasian man who has had no history of prior ear infections and was found to have a cholesteatoma and advanced acute coalescent mastoiditis complicated by a Bezold’s abscess. Conclusions: Bezold’s abscess is a rare entity infrequently encountered in the modern era, likely owing to more prompt treatment of otitis media. Cholesteatoma poses a great risk for both the development of otitis media and further progression to mastoiditis and its associated complications, such as Bezold’s abscess. Knowledge of said abscess is crucial; without prompt recognition, further spread of infection can occur with vascular or mediastinal involvement.application/pdfenCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 InternationalArticle - Refereed2024-07-14The Author(s)https://doi.org/10.1186/s13256-024-04631-y