What is the annual risk of infection in congenital midline neck cysts in children? Thyroglossal duct cysts versus dermoid cysts

Barbour, A. E., Penman, D. and Kubba, H. (2024) What is the annual risk of infection in congenital midline neck cysts in children? Thyroglossal duct cysts versus dermoid cysts. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, 176, 111842. (doi: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2023.111842)

Abstract

Introduction: Midline neck lumps in children are mostly found to be thyroglossal duct cysts or dermoid cysts. Thyroglossal duct cysts often have an associated sinus tract which may connect all the way to the foramen caecum on the tongue, while dermoids have no such connection. This study aims to estimate the annual infection risk for midline neck cysts based on our patient series, and to see if this differs between thyroglossal duct cysts and dermoid cysts. Methods: All children seen at the Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow who underwent surgical excision of a midline neck cyst between 1st January 2017 and 31st December 2021 were identified. In those whose cyst had been infected prior to surgical excision, the age at which the first episode of infection occurred was recorded and used to calculate a survival curve. Results: We identified 53 children (29 male, 24 female) aged 1–16 years (median 4) at the time of surgical excision. There were 26 thyroglossal and 24 dermoid cysts, plus 2 with indeterminate histology and 1 lymph node. Of the 24 dermoids, 4 suffered infection prior to surgery (17%), and 2 of these recurred after surgery (8%). Of the 26 thyroglossal cysts, 16 suffered infection prior to surgery (62%) and 5 of these recurred (19%). 78% of thyroglossal and dermoid cysts had at least 1 episode of infection by age 10 years. Discussion: In a child with a congenital midline neck cyst that has never been infected, deferring surgery for a year comes with a 7.8% risk that the cyst will get infected.

• Item Type: Articles
• Keywords: Children, neoplasm recurrence, local, head and neck anomalies, dermoid cyst, child, dermoid cyst, complications, surgery, pathology, thyroglossal cyst, surgery, pathology, neck, surgery, pathology, male, thyroglossal duct cyst, fistula, surgery, female, congenital midline neck cyst, humans.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Kubba, Mr Haytham

Creator Roles

Kubba, H.: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Supervision, Validation, Writing – review and editing

• Authors: Barbour, A. E., Penman, D., and Kubba, H.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing
• Journal Name: International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 0165-5876
• ISSN (Online): 1872-8464
• Published Online: 30 December 2023
• Copyright Holders: Crown Copyright © 2023
• First Published: First published in International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology 176:111842
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy